Mark McGwire watches his 473-foot blast into the red seats. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

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        Mark McGwire's home run went farther, but Ken Griffey Jr.'s was bigger.

        McGwire's landed in the left field red seats — an estimated 473 feet from home plate, the longest in the 30-year history of the ballpark on the riverfront. But Griffey's homer was the difference in the Reds' 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night before a crowd of 42,126 at Cinergy Field.

        “That was clutch,” Dmitri Young said of Griffey's home run. “It was a 2-2 game. Andy Benes was throwing a hell of a game. It was big.”

        The largest crowd since Opening Day got what it came for.

        “They got to see McGwire hit a home run. They got to see Griffey hit a home run,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “It was a very entertaining game.”

Junior is greeted by Eddie Taubensee and Dante Bichette. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

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        “Well, I guess that's good for them,” McGwire said of the fans. “But when you come out on the losing end, it doesn't do you any good, you know?”

        Griffey's homer wasn't a cheap one. It landed in the right field green seats — an estimated 432 feet from home plate. Griffey left without talking to the media.

        “I threw the wrong pitch in the wrong situation and that's my fault. That's why we lost,” Benes said. “It was a fastball in. I threw to his strength and that's not very smart.”

        This was the first time Griffey and McGwire have met as National Leaguers. They met 53 times as American Leaguers. If Friday's game was a preview of their Reds-Cards battle, get your tickets now.

        “They put on a show,” Pokey Reese said. “I think they got it wrong on McGwire's. I think it went 573.”

Big Mac and Junior greet each other before the game. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

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        The win gets the Reds back to .500 at 14-14 and to within 3¹/₂ games of the Cardinals in the National League Central.

        Reds starter Ron Villone (3-1) went 6ö innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He struck out four and walked three. It broke a string of three straight sub- par outings by Villone, who had allowed 12 earned runs in 13 innings in those three starts.

        Scott Williamson went 2 1/3 innings to finish it for his second save, striking out three. The Reds are 10-0 when they have the lead after seven innings.

        This one was iffy. Williamson gave up back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth but wiggled out of it.

        “He was outstanding,” McKeon said. “We were going to leave him in there.”

        The Reds did something they've rarely done this year: Jumped ahead.

        Reese and Sean Casey started the Reds' first inning with back-to-back singles.

Eddie Taubensee, Scott Williamson and Sean Casey celebrate the Reds' victory. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

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        Griffey got Reese home from second with a single to right. J.D. Drew's throw was up the line, allowing Casey to get to third. First and third, no outs, but the rally died there.

        Dmitri Young popped to third, and Eddie Taubensee grounded into a double play. (Young would extend his hitting streak to to 13 games with a single in the fourth).

        The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead via the home run. That's not surprising. They lead the majors with a home run every 15.4 at-bats.

        Jim Edmonds and McGwire made it two home runs in two at-bats when they went out back-to-back in the fourth.

        It was the second straight game that Edmonds and McGwire, who have 11 homers each, have gone back-to-back. They've homered in the same game four of the last five games.

        McGwire's shot landed in the first row of the red seats, almost directly above the 375-foot mark in left-center.

        The previous longest home run was 465 feet by former Red Eric Anthony against the Florida Marlins on June 25, 1995.

        “Longest I've seen,” McKeon said. “When he hits them, there's no doubt. I lost it. I had to wait to see where it landed. He puts them out of reach.”

        The Reds tied it in the fifth playing little ball. Juan Castro doubled into the left-center gap. Villone bunted him to third, and Reese got him home with a fly to center field.

        Griffey got the Reds the lead back with the home run, his eighth, in the sixth inning.

        Villone and Williamson held it from there.

        “We put a good game together,” Reese said. “We got good pitching, we made good plays in the field. We could care less about the home runs. We won the game.”

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