Lorenzen not yet getting wider role

As tempted as CINCINNATI —

Jim Riggleman might have been to find a slot somewhere in Cincinnati’s Sunday starting lineup against the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Michael Lorenzen, the Cincinnati manager successfully resisted the urge.

The 26-year-old Lorenzen, who in college played outfield when he wasn’t pitching, certainly was making a case for a dual role. Over his last five plate appearances going into Sunday’s game, the righthander had singled, homered as a pinch-hitter, walked, homered and, in Saturday’s eightrun seventh inning of a 12-3 win against the Brewers, lofted a pinch-hit grand-slam.

During Sunday’s daily pregame meeting with Riggleman, Lorenzen’s versatility sparked a reference to Brooks Kieschnick, who mostly played outfielder from 1996 through 2001. “That’s a good name right there,” Riggleman said. “They’re pretty similar.”

Lorenzen’s current role is as a multi-inning relief pitcher, which allows Riggleman the flexibility to leave him in to hit when his turn comes up and have him on the bench as a pinch-hitter when he’s not in the bullpen. That’s not subject to immediate change.

“We’re going to use Mike the way we have been using him,” Riggleman said. “There hasn’t been any discussion or thought beyond how we’re using him now.”

Lorenzen’s pinch-hitting roles will be situation-specific, he added.

“I used him instead of Brandon Dixon (Saturday) because, if I had used Dixon, I would’ve been out of bench players, and I thought it was a little early to do that,” Riggleman pointed out. “Even if (Lorenzen) had struck out, we still had the bases loaded and one out with (Scott) Schebler coming up. We still had a high probability of scoring. I’m not going to put him instead of ... Well, we have ( Jesse) Winker on the bench (Sunday). He’s not going to be pinch-hit instead of Winker.”

The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Lorenzen, who is 1-0 with a 1.93 earned-run average in 15 relief appearances this season, also has pinch-running experience, a role Riggleman isn’t ruling out. He also kept open the possibility of Lorenzen playing the outfield in specific situations, such as to keep him in the game to face a right-hander after a lefthanded reliever is brought in to face a left-handed batter.

That guy: Right field, left field, first base — it doesn’t matter where Eric Thames plays when he’s in the lineup against the Reds. He still hits home runs. His first inning shot Saturday was his 14th in 22 games against the Reds.

“I hate to say his name,” Riggleman said, but not for obvious reasons. “I always mispronounce it. What he’s done against us is remarkable — sad, but remarkable.”

Thames (the “Th” is pronounced like the “th” in “that” or “thought”) has been destructive enough that many observers wonder about automatically walking him. Riggleman has yet to reach that stage of frustration.

Giant slayers: Saturday’s win over Milwaukee left the Reds, who remain last in the National League Central Division, with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games against teams that were in first place going into their series with Cincinnati. The Cubs were tied with Milwaukee for first in the Central before being swept by the Reds in four games June 21-24. Atlanta led the NL East before the Reds won two out of three in Atlanta. The Brewers enjoyed sole possession of first place in the Central going into the current series.