CINCINNATI (AP) -- The defending World Series champs are on some
kind of roll.

width=65> height=90 align=right alt="Tony Womack">

Tony Womack hit a tiebreaking two-run double and the Arizona
Diamondbacks took advantage of catcher Jason LaRue's mishaps with
the knuckleball, beating the Cincinnati Reds 7-2 Wednesday night.

Womack's sixth-inning double off John Riedling (1-2) snapped a
2-all tie and sent Arizona to its 18th victory in 22 games. The
Diamondbacks are 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1999,
leading the NL West by a season-high eight games.

"Our pitchers and hitters are on the same page right now,''
said Womack, who had three hits and stole two bases. "That's what
you strive for.''

Pitching has carried the Diamondbacks -- and not just Curt
Schilling and Randy Johnson. Their starters have pitched into the
seventh inning in 19 of the last 22 games.

"I'm not sure why and I don't care why,'' manager Bob Brenly
said. "I just like watching it. Those guys seem to make their best
pitches when they need it the most.''

The offense has been pretty good, too. Steve Finley added a
two-run homer off Riedling, who later strained his groin. Jay Bell
had a pinch solo homer off Jose Rijo, used in relief even though he
is scheduled to start Saturday.

Brian Anderson (6-8) gave up five hits and two runs in seven
innings, getting for his first victory since July 13. The
left-hander was 0-1 with four no-decisions in his last five games,
and feared more hard times as he was warmed up on a humid night.

"I really didn't feel good out there at all,'' he said. "I
didn't feel crisp. I had a bad warmup. I wasn't locating. I thought
it was going to be a rough night.''

Instead, it was a rough night for LaRue.

Knuckleballer Jared Fernandez got his elusive pitch working so
well that LaRue could barely get his mitt on it. Arizona scored two
unearned runs in the first as LaRue had three passed balls -- one
shy of the major league record for an inning.

The catcher also let a diving knuckleball get through him for a
run-scoring wild pitch.

"That's the most I've ever seen a ball move,'' LaRue said. "In
that first inning, you never knew where it was going to end up. It
would move in three or four different directions. I tried to knock
it down and keep it in front of me, but I couldn't even do that.''

A strained ribcage ended Luis Gonzalez's streak of playing in
446 consecutive games. Oakland's Miguel Tejada now has the longest
active streak at 391.

Gonzalez hadn't missed a game since Sept. 30, 1999, when the
Diamondbacks rested players before their first playoff appearance.
He hurt himself on a swing Sunday and aggravated it in the series
opener.

Cal Ripken Jr. holds the record of playing in 2,632 consecutive
games.

The Reds bumbled through their second straight loss to Arizona,
dropping them 4½ games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. Two
base-running blunders ended a 6-1 loss on Tuesday night.

Ken Griffey Jr. was picked off first by Anderson in the sixth,
but most of the Reds' problems came in a slapstick first.

Womack opened with a single, advanced on LaRue's passed ball and
came around on Junior Spivey's single. LaRue then had consecutive
passed balls -- one of them deflected off his shoulder -- that moved
Spivey to third.

Two pitches later, LaRue let a wild pitch get through him,
scoring Spivey and drawing catcalls.

When LaRue caught Fernandez's first pitch cleanly to open the
second inning, the crowd of 20,320 cheered derisively. LaRue led
the NL with 15 passed balls last year, and has 16 this season.

Fernandez understood why LaRue had so many problems with the
pitch.

"That was one of the best I've had this year,'' he said. "The
conditions were perfect. It had just quit raining, and there was no
wind. I know it was hard to catch. A lot of those pitches were
strikes.''

The Reds tied it in the second, when Adam Dunn doubled and
scored on Austin Kearns' single. Barry Larkin later grounded into a
run-scoring double play.

Quinton McCracken doubled in the sixth off Riedling and Chad
Moeller walked. With two outs and a two-strike count, Womack pulled
a double to right for a 4-2 lead. Finley hit his 18th homer an
inning later.

Game notes
Rain delayed the start of the game for 65 minutes, and
again in the eighth for 32 minutes. ... Arizona INF Craig Counsell
went on the 15-day disabled list with a sore neck. He had missed
the last four games with a pinched nerve. ... C Damian Miller was
activated. He had been disabled since July 24 with a strained lower
back. ... Bell is 12-for-32 career off Rijo with three homers. He's
a career .328 hitter in Cincinnati with nine homers.