CHICAGO — In his first at-bat, with a runner on third base and one out in the first inning, Ken Griffey Jr. popped up on the first pitch, looking anxious. He didn't get much of a chance in his next plate appearance against Chicago Cubs starter Daniel Garibay, drawing a third-inning walk.

        Griffey's third at-bat, however, was a textbook effort. He drove an outside 2-2 fastball to the base of the left-field wall, scoring Barry Lar kin with two outs to extend Cincinnati's lead to 2-0 and record his 100th RBI of the season.

        Griffey, who matched a 2000 personal best by lengthening his hitting streak to 11 games, reached the 100 RBI mark for the fifth season in a row. He has exceeded that level eight times in his 12-year career.

        Griffey downplayed this milestone, as he has done with others.

        “A bunch of guys get on base and you get some hits,” was how he explained 100 RBI. “I'm just trying to help the club.”

        But he couldn't resist making a friendly reference to Larkin: “It just happened that another Moeller guy was on base when I hit it.”

        LEFT OUT: Though acknowledging that Sean Casey has been hitting especially well, McKeon played percentages and rested the left-handed-hitting first baseman against Cubs lefty Garibay.

        Switch-hitter Dmitri Young replaced Casey at first base, and right-handed-batting Alex Ochoa occupied left field.

        McKeon had to weigh Casey's recent production against the need to keep players such as Ochoa sharp. Casey has hit .458 (11-for-24) during a six-game hitting streak while lifting his overall average to .294, his highest since his 10th at-bat of the season.

        But Casey has hit just .188 (13-for-69) off lefties. And Ochoa was 5-for-6 in the last two games.

        McKeon indicated that Casey, who hit a respectable .271 against left-handers last year while batting .332 overall, ultimately will reach a point when he will not be benched against lefties. Casey's last extensive action against lefties came July31-Aug.1, when he went 0-for-6 with an RBI against New York's Glendon Rusch, Mike Hampton and John Franco.

        “He can handle left-handers when he's right,” McKeon said of Casey.

        McKeon also pointed out that the Reds will face exclusively right-handed starters during the three-game series at Milwaukee beginning Monday, insuring that Casey will receive steady activity.

        V FOR VICTORY: Ron Villone continued his effective work out of the bullpen, retiring the only batter he faced, pinch-hitter Chad Meyers, on a foul pop-up with runners on first and second base and one out in the eighth inning. Danny Graves finished the eighth inning and skated out of a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth for his 20th save.

        “I'm just trying to throw strikes and make hitters put the ball in play,” said Villone, who has recorded 4ö scoreless innings while pitching in four of Cincinnati's last six games.

        ETC.: Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman was the guest crooner to serenade the Wrigley Field crowd for the seventh-inning stretch rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” When it came time for the Hall of Famer to sing which team to root-root-root for, he went briefly silent, refusing to betray the Reds. Typically, Wrigley's guest singers implore fans to root, root, root for the Cubbies.

        • The Reds have won eight of their last 11 road games, reminiscent of their success of 1999, when their 51-30 mark away from home was the best in the majors.

        • With the help of the Reds, who tend to draw extra fans to Wrigley Field, the Cubs established a single-game season attendance high for the second day in a row with a crowd of 40,625.

        • The Reds announced that catcher Eddie Taubensee will receive another epidural steroid injection Monday to aid his recovery from a bulging disk in his back.

        • Reminder: Today's starting time was moved to 8:05 p.m. to accommodate ESPN's telecast.

        UP NEXT: Steve Parris (5-14), who is tied with Minnesota's Joe Mays and Houston's Jose Lima for the major-league lead in losses, opposes Cubs rookie Ruben Quevedo (1-3) in today's series finale.

Participate in our e-mail poll

Reds 3, Cubs 0 Box, runs Extra practice helping LaRue Griffey gets 100 RBI for 5th year in row Henson: Big talent, big choice

The deadline deals that built a stadium
Stadium opening events this week
Akili, Mitchell could rotate
Bengals' secondary deeper, improved
Spotlight on Left DTs
Training camp visitors guide
Henman, Enqvist play for title
How finalists compare
Enqvist on cruise control
Late lapses cost Kuerten
'Woodies' reach yet another doubles final
Dusing, Wales miss cut in 100 free
Swim Trials Notebook
It's hard to be saint in the city
OHSAA needs to crack down on misconduct in soccer
Burrow doing Big O bio
Bettis already near Hall stats
D'backs' Showalter could be in jeopardy
Race fans feel pity for Martin
Lindsay may transfer to UC

• Return to Reds front page...