Reds’ Griffey Is Out for the Season

Ken Griffey Jr. will sit out the rest of the season after hurting his right ankle Thursday night, the latest in a string of major injuries for the former All-Star.

The center fielder ruptured a tendon while running out a double in the sixth inning of the Cincinnati Reds’ 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros. Griffey stood at the plate for a moment, as if he thought his drive to left-center field would be a home run, and then he had to speed up.

Griffey appeared to hurt himself as he rounded first base. He had been bothered by a sore tendon for about a week and had been getting treatment before games.

Griffey, 33, hit 13 home runs this year, raising his career total to 481.

Going into Thursday’s game, Griffey had homered in the last five games in which he had an at-bat.

“It’s a shame,” Red Manager Bob Boone said. “He was just starting to get his swing back. He was ready to take off.”

Once thought to be a threat to break Hank Aaron’s record of 755 homers, Griffey has dropped from the game’s elite because of injuries.

He hit .247 with 26 RBIs in 53 games for the Reds this season.

Griffey will have surgery today, the Reds said, with team physician Timothy Kremchek and foot and ankle specialist Dr. James Amis operating. Griffey was put on the 15-day disabled list.

The Reds said he also will have arthroscopic reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder in about two weeks.

Griffey dislocated the shoulder April 5 while diving for a ball and was on the disabled list until May 12.

Injuries to both legs and his right shoulder have caused Griffey to miss 140 games since the 2000 season, including 33 this year.

In the game, Geoff Blum hit a two-run single that capped a five-run second inning for NL Central-leading Houston, which stopped a road losing streak at six.

Rookie left-hander Jeriome Robertson (9-3) won his fifth consecutive start and eighth decision in a row. He hasn’t lost since April 25.