The 49ers appear to have found a promising piece for second-year coach Kyle Shanahan's offense if the first week of training camp is any indication.

Rookie Dante Pettis Ryan Quigley Jersey , a receiver drafted in the second round out of Washington, has been a quick study in Shanahan's complex scheme. He's also been a tough cover for opposing defensive backs, evident by his string of catches against the starting defense in full-team drills.

In fact, Pettis closed Wednesday's practice by catching a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo, speeding by promising second-year player Ahkello Witherspoon, after earlier beating All-Pro Richard Sherman for a catch on a crossing route.

Pettis' ability to get open against physical NFL cornerbacks was a question mark after he was drafted. But Shanahan made a sizable bet that Pettis could do it given his work as a punt returner. Pettis set the NCAA record with nine punt return touchdowns during his four college seasons. He has been difficult to jam at the line of scrimmage in the early going.

"If you can make guys miss with your feet when you have the ball in your hand, you should be able to do it in routes, too," Shanahan said. "To combine that with his speed and his hands and his intelligence, which he is very smart, you feel pretty confident that he's going to continue to get better."

The 49ers traded up 15 spots in the second round to draft Pettis to add to a receiving corps headlined by dependable veteran Pierre Garcon and speedster Marquise Goodwin, who has also looked good during recent practices.

Shanahan is hoping the offense can continue to progress after ranking third in yardage (410) and fifth in points per game (28.8) during the five-game winning streak with Garoppolo as a starter to end 2017.

While Goodwin, a former Olympic long jumper, has textbook sprinting form Phillip Dorsett Jersey , Pettis has anything but. He has long limbs and an awkward running style. But he still finds ways to move efficiently and get separation from defenders. He first figured out he had unique movement skills in the seventh grade.

"I would watch film of me running and I was like, 'Why do I run so different than everybody else?' I didn't really get it and then I was just like 'All right, that's just how I run' and kind of accepted it," said Pettis.

Recent 49ers first-round draft picks have been bitten by the injury bug. Guard Joshua Garnett hasn't practiced since banging knees with a teammate Saturday and is listed as day to day.

Jimmie Ward has been sidelined since midway through Tuesday's practice with a hamstring injury, though he could return as soon as Friday. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead is also dealing with a hamstring issue and has been listed as week-to-week.

Ward and Armstead are expected to have significant roles for defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who indicated he's not overly concerned about their absences from camp. But given NFL teams are allowed just 14 padded practices during the regular season, they are missing opportunities to hone their crafts.

"Anyone who's missing reps right now is missing valuable time," said Saleh. "If you're not getting your practice reps, someone's going to pass you up. But, at the same time, those guys are doing a great job in walk through and meetings and making sure they're getting all of their mental reps so that when they do come back, they won't skip a beat."

NOTES: TE Cole Wick suffered a knee injury during team drills Thursday and was scheduled for further testing, the team said. ... LB Brock Coyle (hip) is expected to work back into practice next week, as will offensive lineman JP Flynn (knee) . LT Joe Staley Frank Clark Jersey , WR Pierre Garcon, CB Richard Sherman, RB Jerick McKinnon, DT Earl Mitchell, DT DeForest Buckner and LB Malcolm Smith were given Thursday off.

Matt Harvey is feeling good again and now his name is popping up in trade rumors for good reasons.

Harvey tossed five solid innings, Scooter Gennett and Dilson Herrera homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 on Friday night.

Harvey, who was acquired from the New York Mets on May 8, won his fourth successive decision and is 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA over his last six starts.

He gave up one run on four hits, struck out five and walked two. He retired 10 batters in a row before exiting after giving up leadoff walk to Jose Martinez to start the sixth.

"The last couple years, it had been an uphill battle," Harvey said. "But now that I'm healthy, getting into a routine again, having that five-day normal rotation, it's nice."

Harvey gave up three hits to the first five batters he faced before allowing just one hit the rest of the way.

"It looked like his stuff was close to what it had been in the past Robert Alford Jersey ," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.

Added Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez: "He had command of his fastball, 100 percent. He had me chasing a lot."

Harvey (5-5) had been bothered by shoulder injuries each of the last two seasons and missed all of the 2014 campaign.

His recent resurgence has made him popular on the trade market.

"It's not my decision, it's out of my control," Harvey said. "I can only go out there and do what I can do and that's help this team win. I love these guys. They've been awesome ever since I've come over here."

Outfielder Billy Hamilton, who robbed Matt Carpenter with an over-the-wall catch in the seventh, enjoys playing behind Harvey.

"He one of those guys that throws strikes and puts it in the defense's hands," Hamilton said. "He doesn't care about striking you out. He wants to put it in play and trust his defense."

Jesse Winker reached base four times and drove in three runs for the Reds, who won their second in a row against St. Louis after breaking a 13-game losing streak to the Cardinals on June 10.

St. Louis had won 17 of the previous 20 games between the teams.

"The Cardinals have had our number for a couple years," Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman said. "It's certainly great to win a ballgame against them. To be honest with you, every night we're just trying to win a ballgame no matter who it is."

Winker staked the Reds to an early lead with a two-run double in the first.

Gennett hit his 17th homer of the season off Carlos Martinez (6-5) in the third to push the lead to 3-1.

Herrera added a three-run, pinch-hit homer off Sam Tuivailala to highlight a five-run outburst in the seventh.

Yadier Molina, celebrating his 36th birthday, drove in the Cardinals' run in the first.

Martinez gave up three runs on six hits over five innings. He had won his previous three starts.

Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez had three hits for Cincinnati, which has won three of four.

The Reds improved to 34-25 following their 8-27 start to the season. They are 39-37 under Riggleman D.J. Fluker Jersey , who took over for Bryan Price on April 19.

TATUM'S TOSS

Boston Celtics standout Jayson Tatum threw out the first pitch before the contest. The St. Louis native wore a Cardinals jersey with the No. 0, his NBA number.

Tatum attended Chaminade School in suburban St. Louis.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Reds: RHP Austin Brice (1-2, 6.04) was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Friday. RHP Tanner Rainey (0-0, 24.43) was optioned to Louisville.

Cardinals: Activated RHP Luke Gregerson (0-0, 8.64) and LHP Tyler Lyons (1-0, 5.93) from the disabled list. Gregerson had been sidelined since May 16 with right shoulder impingement. Lyons missed 33 games with a left elbow strain. RHPs John Brebbia (1-3, 4.13) and Luke Weaver (5-8, 4.72) were optioned to Memphis.

UP NEXT:

RHP Luis Castillo (5-8, 5.53) will face RHP Jack Flaherty (3-4, 3.34) in the second game of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon. Castillo is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals. Flaherty is coming off the shortest start of his career. He went just 2 1/3 innings and gave up three earned runs in a 13-8 loss.

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