Ken Griffey Jr. breaks from the batter's box. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin and Aaron Boone rejoined the Reds Friday night. But before they could pick up a bat, the Reds were in a deep hole. The rest of the night, they kept waiting for the big hit, and they never got it.

        If nothing else, Ken Griffey Jr. proved Friday night that his left hamstring was improved, if not fully healed.

        Starting his first game in center field after leaving the disabled list, Griffey looked sharper at the plate than he had at any time during the regular season, when he lacked the ability to drive into a pitch. He went 1-for-3 while playing five innings in the Reds' 8-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Cinergy Field.

        “It felt a little awkward at first,” Griffey said. “I was just happy to be out there.”

        Griffey went 0-for-12 as a pinch hitter before going on the disabled list April 29. That was forgotten as he made a serious bid for a hit in each plate appearance.

        “I was trying to hit everything back up the middle and not do too much at the plate,” he said.

        In his first at-bat, Griffey missed a hit down the right-field line, which would have driven in Alex Ochoa from second base, by inches. He grounded out on a ball that forced Colorado second baseman Todd Walker to range far to his right. Griffey might have had an infield single under ordinary circumstances, but he ran at less than full speed to avoid straining his hamstring.

        “You'll never be 100 percent with the injury I have,” Griffey said. “I'll just try to get stronger.”

        Griffey broke his hitless streak in the third inning, singling to right-center field with one out. That gave the Reds a rally as Barry Larkin sped from first to third on the play, but ex-Red Ron Villone struck out Sean Casey and Dmitri Young hit a harmless fly ball.

        Almost any other player would have notched a hit on the ball Griffey lined with two outs in the fifth on his final at-bat. Rockies shortstop Neifi Perez, shifted behind second base to reflect Griffey's pull-hitting tendencies, easily grabbed his one-hop shot and threw him out.

        Griffey experienced an uneventful defensive evening, scooping up Ron Gant's first-inning single and moving only a short distance for Larry Walker's second-inning fly ball.

Griffey 1-for-3 in first start Rockies 8, Reds 4 SULLIVAN: Next move: Call up Dunn Bell, Deion out in roster overhaul Deion's probably finished in baseball Bell will start for Rangers Harnisch needs to 'start over' Reds box, runs

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