Griffey’s Still Slumping, but Reds Win Again

As Ken Griffey Jr.’s slump continued, Dante Bichette hit a homer and Pokey Reese had a game-winning single in the 10th inning of the Cincinnati Reds’ a 3-2 victory Sunday over the Minnesota Twins at Cincinnati.

The Reds swept the interleague series improve to 5-4 on a 12-game home stand that is their longest of the season. It also moved them back into first in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of St. Louis.

“We needed to keep it going,” Manager Jack McKeon said. “We’re getting a lot of contributions from a lot of people. That’s the way I like to operate. Everybody gets a chance to play. They come to the ballpark knowing they have a chance to contribute.”

The game was held up for a couple of minutes in the fourth inning, when Griffey’s bat slipped from his hands on a swing and hit a granddaughter of team owner Carl Lindner.

Christine Lindner, 10, was sitting in the first row behind the Reds dugout when she was hit. She was taken to a hospital for a few stitches to close a cut on the left side of her forehead.

“You just feel bad,” Griffey said. “You don’t want to hurt anybody, but those things just happen.”

The accident happened on Ken Griffey Jr. Growth Chart Day, a promotion that drew 40,169 paying fans. They had little to cheer until the slumping centerfielder got a single in the sixth, only his second hit in 22 at-bats.

However, Griffey struck out in his other three at-bats, leaving his average at .210. He has six hits in his last 50 at-bats and joked afterward about his plight.

“I’m gone,” he said. “You hit .200 and the owner’s granddaughter?”

San Francisco 18, Oakland 2--Barry Bonds hit his major league-leading 23rd home run and Jeff Kent homered twice and doubled twice to drive in five runs at Oakland.

Ellis Burks and Bill Mueller also homered to back Shawn Estes’ seven-hitter and help the Giants match their biggest scoring burst of the season.

San Francisco’s second road win in the last 12 tries included six-, five- and four-run innings and followed a closed-door pregame meeting called by Manager Dusty Baker.

He was unhappy the Giants had fallen two games below .500 after starting the series at Oakland with back-to-back losses.

Tampa Bay 15, New York Mets 5--Winning pitcher Esteban Yan hit a home run on the first pitch he saw as a major league batter, highlighting the Devil Rays’ win at New York.

Fred McGriff got his 2,000th hit and Bubba Trammell had a three-run, pinch-hit homer as Tampa Bay scored five unearned runs in the eighth inning. Gerald Williams had three doubles and four RBIs.

Texas 7, Arizona 6--Ivan Rodriguez homered twice, including a two-run go-ahead shot in the seventh inning as the Rangers won at Arlington, Texas.

John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 15th save, and extended his club record with a save in his 12th straight appearance.

Seattle 6, San Diego 4--Alex Rodriguez tripled, doubled and drove in two runs for the Mariners at Seattle.

Rodriguez also scored twice to extend his AL-leading total to 55 runs scored for the Mariners, who were helped by right fielder Stan Javier’s home-run saving grab in the seventh inning.

Toronto 7, Florida 2--Kelvim Escobar struck out a season-high 10 in his third career complete game and Carlos Delgado hit his 20th home run at Miami.

Escobar retired 12 Marlins in a row, seven with strikeouts, between the fourth and seventh innings.

Philadelphia 6, Boston 5--Kevin Jordan’s RBI ground-rule double with two out in the bottom of the 12th inning gave the Phillies the win at Philadelphia.

The Red Sox, whose five-game losing streak is their longest of the season, broke out to a 5-0 lead against Curt Schilling in the third inning.

Chicago White Sox 7, Houston 3--Ray Durham homered on the first pitch of the game and Mike Sirotka pitched seven effective innings at Houston.

Chris Singleton also homered for the White Sox and Paul Konerko doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs.

Detroit 3, Chicago Cubs 2--Shane Halter’s bunt single with two out in the 12th inning scored the winning run at Chicago.

Kansas City 7, Pittsburgh 5--Dave McCarty’s two-run double capped a three-run 11th inning for the Royals at Pittsburgh as Jermaine Dye homered for the third straight game.

Montreal 1, Baltimore 0--The Orioles lost their 20th consecutive game in Canada as Tony Armas Jr. and Steve Kline combined on a three-hitter at Montreal.