Griffey Blast Is an Eyeful

Ken Griffey Jr. let the glare speak for itself.

Griffey stared angrily into the Florida Marlins’ dugout after he rounded third base Tuesday night on his 492nd career home run, a three-run shot that sent the surging Cincinnati Reds to a 5-2 victory and left some feelings ruffled.

For the third time in five days, an opposing manager chose to intentionally walk Sean Casey, the National League’s leading hitter, to get to Griffey with a game on the line.

The All-Century outfielder evidently is taking it personally.

“Junior has a tendency to respond well to criticism and controversy and challenges,” said shortstop Barry Larkin, who also homered. “Walking the guy in front of him is definitely a challenge.”

Griffey also has a tendency to avoid reporters after a high-profile game, and did so Tuesday.

The glare had everybody else talking.

“That’s something about Griff,” said Casey, who is hitting .379. “He can turn on the switch when he gets angry.”

He evidently was angry at Manager Jack McKeon, who decided to have Josh Beckett face Griffey in the sixth inning with the score tied, 1-1. McKeon played the odds, figuring Beckett had a better chance of getting Griffey, who strikes out more than twice as often as Casey.

Plus, Griffey had never hit a homer against Beckett, the most valuable player in last fall’s World Series.

McKeon managed Griffey in Cincinnati in 2000, was fired after a second-place finish that year and went on to lead the Marlins to a World Series title last season.

McKeon didn’t see the glare and passed it off as a natural reaction to being intentionally walked.

“I think everybody would be [thinking], ‘I’ll fix you,’ ” McKeon said.

Beckett didn’t see the glare, either, but was upset when told about it.

“I’m glad you told me that,” he said. “I didn’t see it. I do take offense to that.”

Beckett said he didn’t care whether “he’s a Hall of Famer or not. I don’t think I’ll forget it. I don’t know what he’s staring at.”

Only Griffey knew for sure.

His third homer in three games kept Paul Wilson (7-0) on the best start of his career and extended the Reds’ winning streak to seven games, their longest in two years. Cincinnati has the league’s best record at 27-18 after winning 10 of its last 11 games.

Larkin had a solo homer and a run-scoring single, helping the Reds hold on to first place in the NL Central for a second day.

Wilson, who has never had a winning record or more than eight victories in a season, joined Houston’s Roger Clemens at 7-0 with another solid performance.

The right-hander gave up seven hits in seven innings, including Miguel Cabrera’s score-tying run-scoring single in the sixth as a thunderstorm approached.

With heavy rain falling, Ryan Freel singled to open the bottom of the sixth and took second on Larkin’s groundout. Casey was intentionally walked to bring up Griffey.

Beckett became the 310th pitcher to give up a homer to Griffey, who passed Fred McGriff into 21st place on the career list.

Houston Manager Jimy Williams intentionally walked Casey twice to face Griffey during the Reds’ recently completed four-game sweep.

Griffey hit a tiebreaking run-scoring double in a 7-4 win Friday and grounded out in a sweep-clinching 7-5 victory Monday.