BROWN GOOD, BUT NOT ENOUGH DUNN'S TWO-RUN HOMER IS ALL REDS NEED CINCINNATI 3, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Kevin Brown is back. Well, sort of.

The Dodgers ace, just activated from the disabled list, returned to the already-sizzling Dodgers rotation on Tuesday and turned in a decent performance.

However, he didn't have his best stuff and received little help from his teammates in a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds before a crowd of 25,178 Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

The Arizona Diamonds also lost, which leaves the Dodgers tied for first place in the National League West.

Brown allowed two runs - on a first-inning home run by Adam Dunn - on five hits in five innings but also walked one, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and made an errant throw on a pickoff attempt. He threw 84 pitches - only 53 for strikes.

Brown was put on the disabled list last month when he tore scar tissue in his right elbow and the swelling didn't subside.

``We want him to be there for the long haul,'' Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca said before the game. ``When we have Kevin if he gets healthy - and I feel he's going to be - wow!''

That's how one could describe the starting rotation before Brown was activated.

Omar Daal won his two starts and has a 1.31 ERA as Brown's replacement. And Odalis Perez, Hideo Nomo, Kasuhisa Ishii and Andy Ashby have been brilliant. The Dodgers starters have a major-league low 2.51 ERA.

A healthy Brown makes that rotation even better - but it seems he's not 100 percent.

Brown's first pitch was clocked at 94 mph, which was a good sign. What followed wasn't.

Dunn gave the Reds all the runs they would need in the first inning, drilling an 0-2 pitch to left-center field with Juan Encarnacion on base to make it 2-0.

It was Dunn's third home run in as many consecutive plate appearances. He became the first Reds player to homer in three consecutive plate appearances since Bret Boone, a USC product, did it on Sept. 20, 1998 against Chicago.

In the fourth inning, Brown was off the mark on a pickoff attempt at first base. Austin Kearns went from first to third and Brown then hit Corky Miller in the back to put runners on the corners with one out.

He managed to get out of trouble, striking out pitcher Chris Reitsma and getting Barry Larkin to line out to right field.

The Dodgers scored in the fourth inning. Alex Cora hit a pinch-hit double to lead off the inning and Dave Roberts singled, sending Cora to third. Cesar Izturis beat out a throw on a come backer to Reitsma to load the bases.

Paul Lo Duca then hit into a double play, Cora scoring. Shawn Green flied out to right field to end the inning.

Brown saved his best work for his final inning, when he retired the side in the fifth. He was replaced by Daal, who pitched a scoreless inning.

In the ninth, Dodgers reliever Giovanni Carrara walked Todd Walker and then hit Kearns with a pitch that appeared to land below the left eye and knocked Kearns off his feet. The area around his eye was bloodied. Carrara then also hit Miller, who has been hit 118 times in 380 career games, to load the bases.

Wilton Guerrero singled to shallow right field to score a run. That didn't sit well with Dodgers fans, who booed Carrara.

Brown left the April 13 game against San Diego with a burning sensation in his elbow, the result of torn scar tissue from his September surgery to repair a torn flexor muscle. He missed two starts.

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Photo:

(color) Kevin Brown pitched a solid game, allowing two runs in five innings, but neither he nor the Dodgers were at their best.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer