CINCINNATI (AP) _ Junior came home to Cincinnati, and it was as if he never left ... Seattle.

A steady rain spoiled Ken Griffey Jr.'s eagerly awaited homecoming Monday, letting up just long enough for the slugging center fielder to get a pregame ovation and two empty at-bats.

Then, it returned to wash away one of the most closely watched games of Griffey's life. The Cincinnati Reds blew a three-run lead and wound up tied with the Milwaukee Brewers 3-3 in the sixth inning.

After a three-hour delay, the game was called because of rain and a foreboding forecast. It will be replayed Tuesday night, starting over from the first inning.

All statistics from Monday's game count, leaving Davey Lopes with a unusal debut as Brewers manager. This was the first time in the majors that teams opened with a tie since April 12, 1965, when the St. Louis-Chicago game at Wrigley Field was called because of darkness after 11 innings with the score 10-10.

After playing 11 years in Seattle with its notorious rain, Griffey came home and got washed out, failing to add to his reputation for big games on opening day.

Griffey had homered in three consecutive openers and was tied with Babe Ruth and five others at second place on the career list, one behind Frank Robinson. The streak ended Monday with the game tied and Griffey due up first for the Reds in the sixth.

In his two at-bats, Griffey popped out and grounded out, failing to hit as much as a hard foul. He was standing in center field, getting as soaked as the welcome-home banners sagging from the railings, when home plate umpire Randy Marsh called for the tarp.

What was left of the largest regular-season crowd in stadium history slogged away mumbling about the rain instead of the game.

It was the first time the Reds had failed to complete an opener since umpire John McSherry collapsed and died in the first inning in 1996, forcing a postponement.

The 55,596 fans gave Junior the loudest and longest pregame ovation _ 20 seconds of warmth on a damp day _ before the city's notoriously fickle opening day weather came into play.

Showers wiped out batting practice, but cleared in time for pregame introductions. Wearing long red sleeves and a batting glove on his right hand only, Junior bounced out of the dugout when his name was called fourth, took his rightful place along the first baseline and waved his cap in all directions.

Minutes later, dozens of flashbulbs went off when Junior ran out center field to start the game, prompting him to wave his black-and-red cap again.

It was downhill from there. A steady rain began in the bottom of the second inning, making a soaked "WELCOME TO JUNIORVILLE" banner cling heavily to the right-field stands.

One player after another slipped on the wet turf, throws became an adventure with the slick balls and muted fans hid under brightly colored umbrellas and ponchos.

Through peeks between the umbrellas, they saw the Reds blow a 3-0 lead, the Brewers waste a chance to win a rain-shortened game and Junior fail to get the ball out of the infield.

The Reds got ahead quickly against Steve Woodard, who nervously rolled his shoulders between pitches in the first inning of his first opening day start. Pokey Reese led off with a four-pitch walk and scored on Barry Larkin's double. Dmitri Young's single made it 2-0.

Michael Tucker's solo homer brought fireworks and the last big ovation of the day in the second inning. The lead, like the base runners, was soon slip-sliding away.

Right fielder Dante Bichette figured in the Brewers' comeback. He threw out Kevin Barker as he tried to go from first to third in the second inning, then misplayed Geoff Jenkins' single in the third, letting in an unearned run that made it 3-2.

The game slogged along with the grounds crew spreading a water-absorbing compound on the sliding pits and the mound each half-inning. By the fourth, it was apparent that the team ahead after five innings could be the winner.

The Brewers had that chance and blew it. They loaded the bases to open the fourth against Pete Harnisch, but managed to get only the tying run.

Harnisch struck out Mark Loretta and got Jeromy Burnitz to pop out, ending the inning with the score tied and the bases full.

With no break in sight, Marsh called for the tarp in the top of the sixth, one out and Brewers on first and second.

Two fans ran onto the field during the break and slid on the tarp, another ran on and temporarily hit in the cylinder that the grounds crew rolls the tarp on. All three were handcuffed.

Notes: It was the ninth-largest crowd in stadium history, including playoff games. ... The Reds issued approximately 300 credentials for Junior's debut, attended by 121 media outlets. That included 63 newspapers, four magazines, 55 photographers, 36 television stations and 18 radio stations. ... The Brewers and Reds had never opened the season before. Cincinnati opened against the Milwaukee Braves three times, going 1-2. The only Reds win came in 1954 behind left-hander Joe Nuxhall, now a Reds announcer. ... Lopes got into his first argument as manager in the second inning, when Bichette threw out Barker on a close play at third. Lopes stood and waved his arms in front of third base umpire Ron Kulpa, one of those promoted to the NL staff last August. ... Scott Sullivan's wife gave birth to the couple's second child at 8:32 a.m. Monday. The Reds reliever was pitching when the game was called.