STEPPING UP

As Aaron Boone cooled off, so did the Cincinnati Reds.

They have a lineup that can cause opposing pitchers to sweat. Greg Vaughn is having an “off” year with 41 home runs. Barry Larkin has one MVP award and, at 35, doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Sean Casey is third in the National League in hitting. There are few catchers more dangerous at the plate than Eddie Taubensee.

All that being fact, yet the Reds seem rise and fall these days with Boone, a 26-year-old third baseman whose pedigree just about reaches back to Abner Doubleday.

“Being in a pennant race all year has certainly helped me,” said Boone, who played at Villa Park High and USC. “It makes you be on top of your game every day because every day is important.”

The days are dwindling. Boone has struggled. The Reds hammered the San Diego Padres, 12-1, Monday night to move within 2 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the National League’s Central Division.

Linking the two is not such a reach.

His season started with illness, which led to a demotion to the minor leagues. Now it comes down to 11 games where he could be the difference.

Through Sunday, Boone had hit .298 since returning from triple-A Indianapolis on May 25 and the key hits he has had since Aug. 1 are numerous. Boone has has eight home runs and knocked in 33 runs in his last 32 games.

“All those clutch RBIs shows me that he likes the pressure,” Reds’ hitting coach Denis Menke said. “It shows me that he has the maturity to be a big league hitter.”

That is being tested now. Boone is two for 25 in the last seven games and the Reds are 3-4 in that time.

“It’s important that I focus right now,” Boone said. “I know what this is all about.”

How could he not?

Bob Boone, his father, went through pennant races with the Philadelphia Phillies and Angels during his 19 seasons in the major leagues. Bret Boone, his brother, played for the Reds’ Central Division championship team in 1995 and is the starting second baseman for the Braves.

Ray Boone, his grandfather, spent 13 seasons in the major leagues. Younger brother Matt is in the Detroit Tiger organization.

Such lineage has made the Boone brothers a novelty at times.

A few weeks ago, they were the first brothers to hit home runs in the same major league game since Hector and Jose Cruz in 1981. Last September, when the Reds started the Boones, Larkin and his first baseman Stephen Larkin, they were the first set of brothers to start in an infield together.

Not exactly the stuff you read on a Hall of Fame plaque.

“I’m not in this game to be a footnote,” Boone said. “I’m here to help this team win by making a contribution.”

In May, it didn’t seem like he would get the chance.

Boone hit .282 in 58 games last season and made the team out of spring training. A viral infection cost him five days and eight pounds in April and Mark Lewis moved in at third base. Boone was hitting .181 when he was sent to Indianapolis in early May.

“I’ve never stopped believing in my abilities,” Boone said. “Maybe I would have worked things out if I stayed up here. But they told me I would be down there only a short time and they were right.”

But only because Carlos Baerga, who was also at Indianapolis, refused to be called up unless he was guaranteed he wouldn’t be sent back. Baerga has since been with two organizations, while Boone became the Reds’ third baseman again.

He returned to a team that was 22-20. In June, he began to click at the plate and the Reds started chasing the Astros.

“He started thinking about right field,” Menke said. “It wasn’t that he started hitting a lot balls that way, but he has right field on his mind.

“He started to realize how pitchers were getting him out. Everything was breaking balls away. He used them to learn.”

Boone started schooling them in August.

The Reds’ most productive hitter in August? Well, the team leader in RBIs that month wasn’t Vaughn or Casey or Larkin or Taubensee. Boone knocked in 21.

“It was ridicules,” Casey said. “It just seemed like every night he was getting the big hit. He’s a big reason we are where we are right now. He can play on my team any time.”

When the Reds went on a seven-game winning streak two weeks ago, it was Boone who was pushing them. He went 11 of 30 with three home runs and drove in 12 runs and was named National League player of the week.

“I’m not the player I can be, there is a lot I can still learn,” Boone said. “But I proved I can hit major league pitching.”

Proving it some more could do a lot. Another Boone streak would be nice for the Reds, who still have two games left against the Astros. He has driven in eight runs in seven games against Houston since being recalled.

“He loves big situations,” Menke said. “I told him there is no reason he can’t be a consistent .275-.300 hitter. He’s going to get bigger, so he’ll hit some home runs. But what I really think he will be is a big RBI guy. I’m talking about 85-100 every year.”

The Reds will settle for a dozen, all in the next week.