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GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Ken Griffey Jr. threw his slump to the wind.
Griffey hit a pair of 400-foot homers into a swirling wind
Thursday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to an 11-1 victory over the
reeling San Francisco Giants.
|  | | The Reds' Ken Griffey now has five home runs on the season. |
Barry Larkin also hit a two-run homer and Pokey Reese matched
his career high with five hits as the Reds (8-7) moved above .500
for the first time this season.
They're a month ahead of last year, when they didn't have a
winning record until May 19, then finished with 96 victories.
"Some of the pieces are starting to fall together," manager
Jack McKeon said. "Last year it took us awhile to do it. This year
maybe we can do it faster.
"I think it's a little different ballclub now. Griffey's
starting to hit and (Sean) Casey's back in the lineup. That gives
us a little different look."
Griffey looked a lot better at the plate Thursday as he pulled
out of a 2-for-17 slump. He hit the ball to center in all four
at-bats, with two drives clearing the wall for two-run homers.
Griffey and Larkin, both former student at Moeller High School
in Cincinnati, took turns hitting two-run homers to center, putting
the Reds in control early.
Griffey dressed quickly after the game and had little to say
about his homers or anything else. Asked if it's a good sign that
he's hitting balls hard to center, he said, "I don't know."
Larkin thinks it is.
"I don't think he's gotten to the point where he feels
comfortable," Larkin said. "Hopefully that's happening.
"I've said some things to him, but it's more listening to what
he has to say -- and he's got quite a few things to say. Plus, what
do you tell a guy who hits 50 homers a year -- stay with 'em?"
It was Griffey's first multihomer game with the Reds and the
41st of his career, giving him five homers this season. And it came
one day too early, as far as San Francisco is concerned.
"You knew it was a matter of time with him," Giants manager
Dusty Baker said. "He was barely missing balls the whole series.
We were hoping that he would wait to get hot until the Dodgers got
here."
San Francisco has lost nine of 10 games in its worst start since
1983, also 4-11.
Griffey's two-run shot in the fourth inning off Livan Hernandez
(0-4) easily cut through the wind, landed in the second deck in
center and put the Reds ahead 2-1. One inning later, Larkin hit
another two-run homer over the wall in center for a 4-1 lead.
Wind gusts jerked the pennants above the stadium, making the
flag poles shudder, and redirected high fly balls. Food wrappers
got swept up in the swirling wind and darted across the field.
Lightning flashed and rain started to fall in the bottom of the
eighth inning.
On Griffey's homer in the seventh, center fielder Calvin Murray
drifted back and to his left and appeared to have a chance for the
catch, then changed course and drifted to his right at the last
minute as the wind pushed the ball over the wall.
Noticing the way balls were carrying, Denny Neagle (1-0) made
sure to keep his pitches down. He allowed six hits in eight
innings, got his first win and extended his career-long success
against the Giants -- he's 11-1 in 18 appearances against San
Francisco.
"I've been getting hurt by the long ball," said Neagle, who
gave up five homers in his first three starts. "With the wind
swirling like that, I made a conscious effort to get the ball down
in the strike zone. It was pretty much on my mind the whole game."
Neagle got a break when Barry Bonds came down with the flu
Thursday morning, causing him to miss a game for the first time
this season. Bonds is 13-for-37 (.351) career against Neagle with
five homers.
Hernandez gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings,
leaving him in a four-game losing streak that matches the longest
of his career.
Game notes
Hernandez also lost four games in a row from Aug. 21 to
Sept. 12, 1998, with Florida. ... Heading into the series, Giants
catchers had thrown out only one of 14 runners trying to steal.
They caught 4-of-7 during the three games in Cincinnati. ... The
Reds ended their streak of 11 straight games with an error, their
longest since 1974. ... Griffey has 39 two-homer games in his
career. ... Reese had a pair of four-hit games and the second
five-hit game of his career this season. He also had five hits June
22 last year at Arizona.
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Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 9
Kansas City 7
Baltimore 8
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 9
Oakland 5
Boston 0
Detroit 0
Toronto 12
Anaheim 11
Cincinnati 11
San Francisco 1
Florida 3
Pittsburgh 2
Chicago Cubs 10
Montreal 6
NY Mets 5
Milwaukee 4
Atlanta 6
Philadelphia 4
St. Louis 14
San Diego 1
Arizona 3
Colorado 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ken Griffey Jr says he's not going to change for anybody.
wav: 62 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Pokey Reese says he hit the right pitch.
wav: 123 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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