WP Jim Brower hit a leadoff single in the 11th and scored the go-ahead run. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        HOUSTON — The Reds are suddenly a bunch of sluggers. But they relied on singles by Ken Griffey Jr. and Sean Casey to pull out a 8-7, 11-inning victory Thursday night over the Houston Astros.

        The Reds belted four home runs for the second game in a row, hiking their three-game total to 11. Michael Tucker hit a pair, and reliever Danny Graves hit his second Enron Field homer in two years.

        Jim Brower (4-5), who pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, launched Cincinnati's rally by chopping a one-out single over third base off Houston reliever Joe Slusarski (0-1). Brower lifted his average to .333 (5-for-15). Alex Ochoa singled and Barry Larkin walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.

        Griffey also worked the count full before hitting a single into center field, scoring Brower. Griffey took a pair of 1-2 pitches that were inches off the outside corner and fouled off a pitch before delivering his go-ahead hit.

Danny Graves is greeted by Jason LaRue after his second HR at Enron Field. Those are Graves' only major-league hits. | ZOOM |

        Griffey is hitting .407 (11-for-27) with seven RBI while hitting safely in all seven games since returning from the disabled list last Friday.

        “He hasn't hit his stride, but that at-bat was a beautiful thing to watch,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “For him to read those pitches, you can certainly tell he's a thoroughbred.”

        Ochoa came home on Casey's single off third baseman Vinny Casti lla's glove.

        Lance Berkman lined his second home run of the game with one out in the bottom of the 11th, but Brower escaped by retiring Moises Alou and Richard Hidalgo on fly balls to center field.

        Brower, the sixth reliever Boone used, capped a strong night for the Reds' bullpen, which allowed two runs in 8 1/3 innings.

        Though the Reds still had left-hander Hector Mercado available, Brower was essentially their last resort on the mound.

Lance Davis looks like a deer in the headlights after giving up three HR's in the first inning of his major-league debut. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        “Bob's comment when he gave me the ball was, "It's yours until the game's over,'” said Brower, who stranded a runner on second base in the eighth inning, left the bases loaded in the ninth and coaxed an inning-ending double play in the 10th after yielding a leadoff single. “I didn't try to pace myself, because I knew with one run the game's over. Pacing myself was out the window. There was no chance. Every time I looked, there were guys on first and second or something was happening. Every inning was intense.”

        Cincinnati's home-run output stretched the limits of power even for Enron, where pop-ups turn into longballs, as Houston homered five times. The total of nine homers set an Astros franchise record for a home game.

        The Reds (27-44) recorded their biggest comeback of the year. Houston grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning off left-hander Lance Davis, one of four rookies in the Reds' starting rotation. Davis lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits — including three first-inning homers.

        Tucker's two homers gave him three in two games. His second homer, a leadoff shot in the eighth inning off Astros reliever Mike Jackson, erased Houston's 6-5 edge. Casey also homered for the second consecutive game.

        And there was Graves. The reliever's two-run, fourth-inning blast was more than just a novelty. It narrowed Houston's lead to 5-4, sustaining the Reds' comeback from their instant deficit.

        Graves, whose only other major-league hit was a home run in Houston on May 12, 2000 off Mike Maddux, didn't just get lucky. He drove a 1-1 pitch from Astros starter Tony McKnight so hard that it caromed high off the 70-foot-tall sandstone wall behind left field.

        “It was definitely weird,” Graves said. “I still can't believe it happened. In my other two at-bats this year, I couldn't even foul one off. I have no business being in the batter's box.”

        Why Graves was in the game this early was an aberration in itself. The Reds' relief ace typically appears only in the late innings. But Graves and Boone agreed earlier this week that he needs more frequent work to regain his effectiveness, which had dulled with the lack of save opportunities. Boone told Graves before the game that he'd be the first reliever in if Davis encountered quick trouble.

        Finally operating with a mostly healthy roster, Boone made no changes in his starting lineup after using different alignments for 34 consecutive games entering Wednesday.

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