"One of the players happiest to see Jorge Cantu's success the past two seasons and his hot start in 2010 is in the opposing dugout this week.

Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes was a Cantu teammate in the Tampa Bay Rays organization from 2003-07. In 2004, they tore up the Triple-A International League with Durham, combining for 48 homers and 158 RBI. The following year they had breakout seasons in the majors.

"There's so much adversity in this game," said Gomes, who started in left field Tuesday. "To see a guy overcome it speaks [volumes] of the character of the player more than his talent. Cantu was given up on by [the Reds] and the Rays."

Tuesday night against the Reds, Cantu extended his run of having a hit and an RBI in 12 consecutive games. The streak started at the end of last season. Mike Piazza was the last National League player with a similar stretch, getting a hit and an RBI in 15 straight from June 14-July 2, 2000.

Since the RBI became an official statistic in 1920, George Kelly of the 1921 Giants is the only other player to start a season with a hit and RBI in as many as eight straight, according to the Elias Sports Bureau."