Reds Have an Afternoon to Forget in Arizona

It was a rough Saturday afternoon in a tough season for the Cincinnati Reds.

Ken Griffey Jr., who argued with his father in the dugout, and Pokey Reese left the game with minor injuries, reliever Manny Aybar was thrown out for hitting Tony Womack with a pitch and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Reds, 9-6, Cincinnati’s first loss at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.

Griffey could be seen yelling at his dad, Red coach Ken Sr., when he was taken out of the game in the fifth inning because of a twisted right knee. The younger Griffey was not available for comment.

Jay Bell singled, doubled and tripled and Steve Finley hit his third home run in four games for the Diamondbacks.

Alex Cabrera, in his fifth game since being called up from double-A El Paso, was three for three with three runs batted in but left the game after straining his left groin running in the fourth inning.

Going into the game, the Reds were 7-0 in Phoenix since the Diamondbacks came into the league in 1998.

“I guess all good things must come to an end,” Red Manager Jack McKeon said.

Griffey was hurt when he dodged out of the way of shortstop Barry Larkin as the two players converged on Luis Gonzalez’s blooper to short center in the fourth and left for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.

Reese was hit in the left wrist by a pitch from Armando Reynoso leading off the fifth. In obvious pain, he left the game immediately. X-rays were negative, and the injury was diagnosed as a bruise.

While Griffey and Reese left without talking to reporters, McKeon said neither injury was serious.

“Pokey’s was not bad,” McKeon said. “I was planning to give him the day off [today] anyway. Junior’s not bad, either. He didn’t want to come out of the game, but we went ahead and took him out.”

St. Louis 10, Houston 9--Mark McGwire hit his major league-leading 30th home run and Fernando Tatis homered for the first time since coming off the disabled list as the Cardinals won at St. Louis. McGwire became the first player to have 30 homers at the All-Star break four times.

Florida 6, Montreal 5--Ryan Dempster won a true Canada Day pitching matchup and Mark Kotsay had three hits, including a homer, as the Marlins won at Montreal.

Dempster (9-4), a native of Schelt, British Columbia, bested Edmonton’s Mike Johnson (3-3) in a rare matchup of Canadian starters on the country’s 133rd birthday.

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3--Paul Byrd pitched seven strong innings for his first win in almost two months as the Phillies won at Philadelphia.

Milwaukee 4, Chicago 0--Jeff D’Amico came off the disabled list to dominate Chicago, allowing two hits over eight innings in the Brewers’ victory at Milwaukee.

San Diego 5, Colorado 3--Bret Boone and Ryan Klesko homered and the Padres benefited from Rolando Arrojo’s wildness at San Diego as they ended the Rockies’ three-game winning streak.