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  Friday, Jun. 23 7:35pm ET
Boone gets a hat trick of homers
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

CINCINNATI (AP) -- With three perfect swings, Bret Boone left his former team in misery.

Bret Boone
Bret Boone, right, made some friends among his Padres teammates with three home runs Friday.

Boone hit three homers -- each off a different pitcher -- and Ruben Rivera added a three-run shot in the 10th inning as the San Diego Padres overpowered the reeling Cincinnati Reds 10-7 Friday night.

Boone matched his career high by driving in six runs and got the ultimate sign of respect -- an intentional walk in the 10th -- just ahead of Rivera's homer off Scott Williamson (2-5).

"I'm not going to lie: Any time you do it against your old team, it's a little extra special," said Boone, traded to Atlanta after the 1998 season. "Nights like this don't come that often."

Games like this seem to come just about every day for the Reds, who have lost 13 of their last 16. Not even a three-run rally in the ninth off Trevor Hoffman (1-2) could get them out of their rut.

"It was a good ballgame for the fans, but a tough one for us," manager Jack McKeon said. "We couldn't keep the ball in the park."

The Padres scored all 10 runs off five homers -- three by Boone, one each by Ryan Klesko and Rivera -- as they beat the Reds for the fourth time in eight days. San Diego swept a three-game series last weekend, with Tony Gwynn singling home the go-ahead run off Williamson for one of the wins.

Gwynn, out of the starting lineup for a fifth consecutive game because of a sore knee, pinch hit to open the 10th and doubled into the corner off Williamson.

Two outs later, the crowd cheered when catcher Eddie Taubensee held up four fingers, signifying an intentional walk for Boone. "I don't blame them," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "With the game on the line and a guy that locked in, it makes sense. I would have walked him, too."

Two pitches later, Rivera hit his seventh homer, adding to Williamson's woes. The NL rookie of the year in 1999 has given up 13 runs in 12 1/3 innings in his last 10 appearances.

"When you go out there over and over and don't do the job, it's frustrating," Williamson said. "I'm better than that right there."

It was a crushing turnaround for the Reds, who were up in the dugout in celebration after pulling off a rare comeback against Hoffman. Ken Griffey Jr.'s two-out, two-run double left Hoffman with only his second blown save of the season and his first since April 25.

"Coming back against Hoffman was one of the highlights of the day but once again, we couldn't hold them," McKeon said.

They couldn't stop Boone, either. Six of his 12 homers and two of his three multihomer games this season have come against Cincinnati.

"It was one of those things where they gave me some pitches to hit and I didn't miss 'em," Boone said. "Tonight they gave me some pitches to handle in the zone I as looking for and what happened, happened."

Boone's first homer was a three-run shot in the fourth off Rob Bell, who was promoted from Double-A in spring training and is losing his grip on a job. Klesko also hit a solo homer in the fourth, his fourth homer in three games.

Bell is 0-4 in his last four starts, giving up 16 runs in 15 innings.

Boone added a solo shot in the sixth off Manny Aybar for a noteworthy repeat. He also homered off Bell and Aybar in the same game in Cincinnati on May 11. Boone's two-run homer off Scott Sullivan in the eighth completed the second three-game game of his career. He hit three for Cincinnati at Wrigley Field on Sept. 20, 1998.

The second baseman also made several impressive defensive plays to help Adam Eaton, like Bell a rookie called up from Double-A this season. Eaton gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 2-3 innings, leaving him with a 2.39 ERA in his last four starts.

Griffey hit a two-run homer, his 22nd, off Eaton in the fifth. Griffey also homered for the Reds' only run off Eaton in the Padres' 3-1 win last Saturday.

Shortstop Kevin Nicholson, the Padres' first-round draft pick in 1997, was called up from Triple-A and made his debut. He started and went 0-for-2 before leaving as part of a double-switch.

Cincinnati's Chris Stynes strained his left hamstring while running out a single in the third and left the game. Pokey Reese, who was supposed to get a day of rest, came on to pinch run and play second base.

Game notes
Boone has 11 multihomer games in his career. ... It's the first time Klesko has homered in three consecutive games since 1997. ... Nicholson is the 12th rookie to play for the Padres this season. ... San Diego has used 41 players this season, the same number for all last season. The club record is 48 players in 1991. ... Gwynn was out of the lineup for a fifth straight game because of a sore left knee. ... Reds pitchers are 0-for-21 since June 5. Bell is 0-for-20 career with 14 strikeouts. ... A crowd of 31,746 showed up to watch the game and a postgame concert by The Spinners.

 


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 Bret Boone enjoyed hitting three homers against his former team.
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