Griffey (8 RBIs) Feasts on Indian Pitching

Ken Griffey Jr. drove in eight runs for the first time. Chris Stynes had a career-high five hits. The Cincinnati Reds hit four homers in the first four innings.

Unusual? Not against the Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff.

Griffey hit two homers Saturday as the Reds battered the Indians’ wobbly pitching staff and rolled to a 14-5 victory at Cincinnati.

The first 12 runs scored on homers--four by the Reds, three by the Indians--as hitters enjoyed an all-or-nothing afternoon in front of 54,335.

“This is something we hadn’t seen in a while,” Red Manager Jack McKeon said.

The Indians see it all the time. They’ve lost 19 of 27, mostly because their injury-decimated pitching staff can’t hold anyone.

“We need pitching, period,” Manager Charlie Manuel said. “You can sit and talk about your offense, but pitching is still the name of the game. Pitching wins championships. Pitching sets everything up.”

Griffey led the barrage with two homers, a bases-loaded single and a run-scoring double, adding to his reputation for hitting them out and driving them in against the other league. He leads the majors with 25 homers and 67 RBIs in interleague play since 1997.

Emerging from a deep slump--three hits in 10 games--Griffey hit a two-run homer in the third against Kane Davis (0-2) and a three-run shot in the fourth against Jim Brower. His fourth two-homer game of the season left him with 28 homers overall, two behind Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals for the major league lead.

He also hit a two-run single in the seventh against Steve Reed and doubled in the eighth for the first eight-RBI game by a Red since Dave Parker drove in eight at Atlanta on Sept. 15, 1987. Griffey had never before driven in more than six in a game.

“I’m just going up there and guys happen to be on first and second or second and third,” Griffey said.

Toronto 6, Montreal 3--David Wells became the majors’ first 15-game winner and Raul Mondesi hit a three-run homer for the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Wells (15-2) won his eighth consecutive decision to become only the second pitcher since 1988 to reach 15 victories before the All-Star break. Pedro Martinez did it last season.

Wells, the probable All-Star game starter, gave up five hits and three runs in seven innings to stop the Expos’ three-game winning streak.

Philadelphia 13, Baltimore 4--Andy Ashby pitched eight strong innings and Pat Burrell, Mike Lieberthal and Rob Ducey each had three RBIs for the Phillies at Philadelphia.

Ashby (4-7) gave up three runs, one earned, and seven hits.

He struck out two and walked two to win his second consecutive start as scouts from at least seven teams watched him. Ashby is expected to be dealt before the July 31 deadline.

Detroit 4, Milwaukee 2--Tony Clark’s two-run single in the 15th inning gave the Tigers the victory at Milwaukee in a game that lasted 5 hours 20 minutes, stretching into this morning.

Oakland 8, Arizona 7--Jeremy Giambi’s single in the bottom of the 10th inning drove in the winning run in front of 54,268 at Oakland, the largest baseball crowd in Oakland Coliseum history.

Atlanta 5, Boston 1--Javy Lopez drove in three runs with a homer and a single and Terry Mulholland pitched eight strong innings at Boston as the Braves shut down the Red Sox for the second consecutive game.

The Red Sox scored 44 runs in a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins before opening the three-game series against Atlanta. They had only seven hits in a 5-3 loss Friday night and were held to seven again Saturday.

Chicago Cubs 9, Chicago White Sox 2--Jon Lieber pitched his second consecutive complete game, a five-hitter, and Eric Young, Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez homered against All-Star James Baldwin at Wrigley Field.

Lieber (8-5), who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates with a two-hitter in his previous start, lost his bid for a second consecutive shutout when Magglio Ordonez hit his 20th homer in the sixth. Lieber walked one and tied his career high with 12 strikeouts, including Frank Thomas three times.

Texas 8, San Diego 1--Rafael Palmeiro and David Segui homered, and Rick Helling pitched seven strong innings for the Rangers at Arlington, Texas.

Helling (10-7) gave up only one run and three hits as the Rangers won their fifth in a row to move to .500 (42-42) for the first time since June 10. He struck out seven and walked four.

Kansas City 5, Houston 2--Mac Suzuki pitched seven strong innings and Mark Quinn hit a two-run homer for the Royals at Houston.

Florida 6, Tampa Bay 5--The Marlins overcame a season-high four errors at Miami, scoring the tiebreaking run when Esteban Yan walked Preston Wilson with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

Pittsburgh 4, Minnesota 1--Kris Benson outpitched Eric Milton at Pittsburgh in a matchup of two of the majors’ top young starters, sending the Twins to their seventh consecutive loss.