Ken Griffey Jr. runs out a ground ball in the first inning. (Craig Ruttle 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.

        As a result, the Reds fell to the Colorado Rockies 8-4 before a crowd of 28,301 on a rainy night at Cinergy Field.

        Griffey and Larkin each had a single. Boone had a sacrifice fly. The Reds played their projected starting eight for the first time, 65 games into the season. But it wasn't nearly enough to get the Reds over the top.

        “We're going to have to be real patient with them, especially Griff,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “This is spring training for him.”

        The loss was the fourth in a row for the Reds. It hammered home the point that while the cavalry has arrived, the war might be over. The Reds fell a season-high 14 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

        The Reds' home woes continue. The Reds have lost five straight and 17 of 20 at home. Overall, they are a major league-worst 7-22 at home.

Barry Larkin and Aaron Boone returned with Griffey Friday. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Colorado seems to have Reds starter Chris Reitsma's number — whether it's at home or on the road. The Rockies beat Reitsma around for eight runs on 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings on April 27.

        He started as badly Friday but settled down. He retired the last 10 batters he faced before being lifted for pinch-hitter — a move that in retrospect did not look very good.

        Reitsma (3-6) put the Reds in 4-0 hole in the first. The Rockies did it with six hits — four of them singles.

        “I though Chris threw the ball pretty well,” Boone said. “The Rockies had some awfully good at-bats off him.”

        The Reds blew an opportunity in their half of the first. Alex Ochoa and Larkin began the inning by walking. They moved up to second and third on Griffey's groundout.

Fans try to distract Rockies catcher Ben Petrick as he catches a foul ball by Dmitri Young. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Former Red Ron Villone (1-2), making a spot start for another former Red Denny Neagle, avoided damage by striking out Sean Casey and getting Dmitri Young to pop out.

        Pokey Reese got a run back in the second with his fifth home run of the year - a bolt to left field. It was only Reese's ninth hit in his past 57 at-bats.

        Larkin and Griffey each broke long skids with singles in the third. Larkin had gone 0-for-17. His last hit was May 17. Griffey had gone 0-for-13 to start the year.

        But Casey struck out and Young flied out.

        Reitsma was rolling by then. He retired the Rockies in order in the second, third and fourth.

        The fourth turned out to be it for him. Boone lifted him for pinch-hitter Ruben Rivera in the Reds' fourth.

        The move to lift Reitsma backfired. Rivera struck out. But the killer came later. Justin Atchley, fresh up from Triple A Louisville, replaced Reitsma. Atchley, the 27-year-old lefty, gave a up a three-run homer to Todd Helton to pretty much put the game out of reach.

        Boone said Reitsma's pitch count — it was at 80 — and the left-handers Colorado had coming up were factors in the decision to pull Reitsma.

        “I thought about (leaving him in),” Boone said. “But with his pitch count, he was only going to go one more inning. They had all those left-handers coming up. I figured I take a shot with Atchley.”

        The Reds added a run in the sixth on Aaron Boone's sacrifice fly. The Reds put up two more in the eighth.

        Griffey and Larkin were out by then.

        “I'm going to play it cautious with them,” Bob Boone said. “I was wo rried with the rain. I think I do that in lopsided games for a while.”

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