Ken Griffey Jr. makes a diving catch. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

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        MIAMI — Danny Graves was in a daze Sunday as he struggled to discuss the Reds' 7-6 loss to the Florida Marlins.

        “My mind is going around in circles right now, so I might sound like an idiot talking to you,” Cincinnati's relief ace said after yielding Mike Lowell's one-out, ninth-inning home run that broke a 6-6 tie.

        Graves' state of mind actually might have been a logical reaction to the tumult of achievement, misery and failure that engulfed the Reds:

        • They stranded 14 baserunners, resulting directly from 4-for-18 hitting with runners in scoring position. Cincinnati left nine runners on second or third base.

Danny Graves watches Mike Lowell's HR. | ZOOM |

        • Graves blew his fourth save in 12 opportunities since the All-Star break. Since then, he has compiled a 1-4 record with a 3.62 ERA.

        • Shortstop Barry Larkin left the game in the fifth inning, having dislocated the middle finger on his left hand by taking a swing at a Ryan Dempster sinkerball. Though X-rays were negative, Larkin is unlikely to play in tonight's series opener at Atlanta.

        • Scott Williamson, who was due to start tonight, returned to Cincinnati to have his painful lower back examined. This prevented manager Jack McKeon from using left-hander Ron Vil lone, who'll replace Williamson, in relief against the Marlins.

        • That wasn't McKeon's only personnel problem. Without Villone and Scott Sullivan, who remained sidelined with a tight shoulder, he had to summon ex-starter Larry Luebbers for the third time in four games, since Mark Wohlers was being saved for extra innings. Luebbers was charged with Florida's three eighth-inning runs that erased Cincinnati's 6-3 edge.

Chris Stynes scores when Mike Redmond drops the ball. | ZOOM |

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        Though the Reds won the series, two games to one, they left for Atlanta with gloomy prospects. Cincinnati (64-65) slipped 8 1/2 games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central.

        “You're trying to stay in the race,” Graves said. “Anytime you have a chance to win the game, you want to win it and get the heck out.”

        That didn't happen, mainly because the Reds continued to fail in the clutch. They couldn't score in the first, second and ninth innings despite having two runners on base with one out. They squeezed one run from a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the eighth inning. Cincinnati properly seized its chances only in a four-run seventh inning, when Dante Bichette, who matched a career high with five RBI, lined a three-run homer.

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