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  Saturday, May 13 3:05pm ET
Junior's big hits make up for average
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

HOUSTON (AP) -- Perhaps the only thing that left Enron Field faster than the game-winning home run Ken Griffey Jr. hit Saturday was Junior himself.

Griffey hit two homers, including a two-out, two-run shot in the ninth inning that gave the Cincinnati Reds their sixth straight victory, 8-7 over the Houston Astros.

Griffey left the stadium immediately after the game without speaking to the media. His second home run, on an 0-2 pitch from closer Billy Wagner, helped the Reds win a second straight game from the Astros after trailing entering the ninth inning.

"He hit a fastball up. A lot of guys swing through that pitch, but that's why he's one of the best players in the game," Wagner said. "I wasn't going to get beat with my second-best pitch. I went after him and he won the battle today."

Michael Tucker, Griffey and Dmitri Young hit consecutive homers in the eighth that tied it at 6. Houston took the lead in the bottom half on Richard Hidalgo's RBI double.

Wagner got two quick outs in the ninth before walking pinch-hitter Dante Bichette. Griffey hit a drive into the right-field seats for his 12th home run.

"People are always asking me about his .210 batting average. Well, let him keep hitting .210 as long as he keeps hitting homers and winning games for us," Cincinnati manager Jack McKeon said. "That was a great matchup. I really liked the matchup."

There were five lead changes.

"This is getting to be a daily feature, this was some kind of game," McKeon said. "You take it, no I'll take it. We made some great plays."

Griffey, who entered the game hitting .176 (6-for-34) during May, also had a run-scoring double and finished with four RBI. It was his 42nd career multihomer game.

The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Scott Williamson got pinch-hitter Russ Johnson to ground into a game-ending double play.

"You want to go at a guy and make him hit it," Williamson said. "I just tried to throw a strike and I threw a two-seamer that ran into his hands and got the double-play ball. I was fortunate to get it."

Dennys Reyes (1-1) was the winner and Williamson got his fifth save. Wagner (1-2) blew a save chance for the second straight day.

Hidalgo, Roger Cedeno and Daryle Ward homered for the Astros. There have been 64 home runs in 17 games at new Enron Field.

The Astros took a 6-2 lead into the eighth. Tucker hit a two-run shot off Jay Powell, then reliever Yorkis Perez gave up home runs to Griffey and Young on consecutive pitches.

"This was a frustrating game, to say the least," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "We had a chance to put the game away, just like last night, but we didn't get it done."

Cedeno's homer capped a five-run seventh. Hidalgo's solo shot tied it at 2 and Mitch Meluskey drew a walk from Osvaldo Fernandez and scored on Bill Spiers' double.

Fernandez, called up from Double-A Chattanooga on Saturday to replace the injured Pete Harnisch, allowed four runs on six hits in 6 1/3. He made his first major league appearance since June 25, 1997.

Griffey hit an RBI double in the sixth, stole third and scored on Sean Casey's single for a 2-1 lead.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the second when Ward homered.

Game notes
Young's first-inning single gave the Reds left fielder a career-high 18-game hitting streak. ... Jeff Bagwell is hitting .059 (1-for-17) on the homestand. ... The last time the Reds hit three consecutive homers was April 9, 1997 at Colorado when Barry Larkin, Willie Greene and Reggie Sanders did it.

 


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