He might have been playing low minor league ball in Dayton on Tuesday night, but Joey Votto was seeing himself and his Cincinnati Reds winning the World Series this year.

“I’m trying to be as supportive as I can, but I desperately want to be out there,” he said of the Reds as he sat in the Dayton Dragons dugout. “This is a great thing we’re doing – this winning. I really believe we have a legitimate shot at winning the World Series. I’ve seen that from watching on the sidelines.

“At the beginning of the year I was looking forward to hopefully winning the division. But now I’m starting to be a believer.”

Votto has watched from the sidelines for six weeks. The All-Star first baseman – and the National League MVP in 2010 – last played for Cincinnati on July 15. Since then he’s had two surgical procedures on his left knee to repair torn cartilage he suffered while sliding June 28 in San Francisco.

Although he had been close to returning early this month, he re-injured the knee in a sliding drill Aug. 8 and that brought about the second surgery to remove a piece of loose cartilage.

His first game action came Tuesday night in what is to be a two-game rehab assignment with the Dragons. Although he admitted he’s not 100 percent and still has some pain and swelling, he hopes his knee will feel sound enough so he can rejoin the first-place Reds for their three game series beginning Friday night in Houston.

Votto – who was given his usual No. 19 by Dragons pitcher Jacob Johnson who wears the same digits for Dayton – played first base and batted third against the West Michigan Whitecaps.

His first time at the plate he never swung the bat, walking on five pitches. As he trotted down to first base, some of the 9,198 fans — the Dragons’ largest crowd of the season — booed Whitecaps pitcher Jeff Ferrell.

Leading off the fourth, Votto worked the count full, but then was struck out swinging by Ferrell.

The 21-year-old Whitecaps pitcher – a 26th round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers in 2010 – seemed to have been so relieved to have survived the Reds slugger that he lost his focus with the next two Dragons hitters, Yorman Rodriguez and Juan Silva, who promptly hit back-to back home runs.

As planned, Votto played five innings in the field. When he returned to the dugout, he worked his way along the bench acknowledging his teammates, then tossed his cap into the crowd and headed into the clubhouse.

The Dragons worked their way through the lineup, and with Votto unavailable, Yovan Gonzalez pinch hit for him and dribbled an infield single in what would end up a four-run inning, the most productive in the Dragons’ 9-3 victory.

Votto seemed to be glad his on-field rehab was taking place in Dayton at a ballpark and in a town he knows well.

“I’m happy to come back to Dayton and play in this city for these fans. Hopefully, I don’t ruin their sellout streak,” he joked beforehand.

He didn’t. The Class A team has the longest sellout steak in U.S. professional sports history, having sold out every game – Tuesday was 909 – since the franchise began in 2000.

“This is one of the most special places for baseball in all of the minor leagues and maybe all of professional baseball,” Votto said.” I continue to be astonished at how good the conditions are here. The grounds crew does an amazing job and the fan base turns out in droves. It’s a great place to play.”

When Votto took the field at the start of the game, he got a rousing welcome from the crowd that included Linda and Gregg Trebnick, the Washington Township couple with whom he lived during his second season with the Dragons – in 2004 – and had a close relationship with after.

In fact, after he left Dayton, Votto would sometimes spend winters and vacations with the Trebnicks and their three children at family’s Nutt Road home. And in 2009 when he had a bout with depression that sidelined him for 21 games with the Reds, it was the Trebnicks he turned to and they brought him to their home.

During that hiatus, he had a rehab stint with the Dragons, as well, and that time he hit a home run on the first pitch thrown him. Tuesday night was a little different.

“I’ve still got a ways to go,” he said after showering and putting on jeans, a striped long-sleeve shirt and a Toronto Maple Leafs cap.

“I was too busy (out there) swinging and missing,” he said with a brief smile. “It’s been almost six weeks so it’s not too comfortable yet, but I don’t think it will take very long. I’ve never been hurt before so it’s all a learning experience for me.

“I was glad, though, to get back out there and play ball. It’s the first step to getting back into Great American Ball Park and into the World Series this year. I’m not sure they need me to win the World Series, though, they’re playing such great baseball. “

When Votto got hurt the Reds had a one-game lead in the NL Central. Going into Tuesday night’s game at Arizona, they had gone 28-14 without him and expanded their lead over St. Louis to six games.

Asked why he didn’t bat in the fifth inning before heading to the showers, he indicated it was an organizational decision: “You’ll have to ask someone else on that. The reason wasn’t physical.”

Then with a grin he added: “Like with the Reds, I noticed when I leave games the team just starts playing really, really well. So that was me being a good teammate and getting the heck out of there and letting someone else take over.”