DODGERS NOTEBOOK: PLAY AT SECOND IRKS KENT.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati utilityman Ryan Freel took exception to what Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent said to him after a force play at second base during the seventh inning of the Reds' 11-3 victory on Saturday. When told of Freel's post-game comments to a reporter, the grizzled Kent took exception of his own.

Kent, believing Freel had slid out of the baseline, told Freel to keep his spikes down.

``He told me to keep them low,'' said Freel, whose six different positions include second base and shortstop. ``You know, whatever. If I can do it again, I'll do it again. If he's in the way and it's my job to take him out, then I will take him out. I'm not going to sit there and pull up because he's telling me that's something he doesn't approve of. And I even talked to the (second-base) umpire (Ted Barrett). He said it was a clean slide.''

Kent, who has 13 years' major-league service time to Freel's one and change, said he was standing to the outfield side of the bag and that nothing about Freel's slide was clean.

``If he wants to kick his spikes up behind the bag ...'' Kent said. ``If he had slid (directly) into second base, he would have been safe. I just told him to keep his spikes down. If he doesn't respect playing up the middle, I guess he doesn't want to play there anymore. I think it was pretty disrespectful of him to even talk to the media (about it).''

--Good start: The Dodgers' Mike Edwards, called up from Triple-A Las Vegas when Jose Valentin went on the 15-day disabled list last week, made his first major-league start at third base. He also delivered his first major-league extra-base hit, a fourth-inning triple that led to a run when catcher Paul Bako subsequently laid down a picture-perfect suicide squeeze.

--Gagne begins rehab: Closer Eric Gagne officially will begin his rehabilitation assignment with Las Vegas by pitching an inning in today's game.