By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAMPA, Fla. - You knew that this wasn't a regular exhibition game about the time a camera crew sprinted in position to get exclusive footage of Ken Griffey Jr. saying hello to Don Zimmer during batting practice.
But Griffey wasn't the star of this show.
"They're all here to see one guy," Griffey said.
That would be Hideki Matsui, the Japanese import whose exhibition debut came in the Reds' opener against the New York Yankees.
The Reds won 9-3 - Adam Dunn hit a grand slam and Reggie Taylor homered twice - but the Reds were merely extras in the big Matsui production. Matsui, affectionately known as Godzilla, did drive in two of the Yankees' runs with a line-shot homer to right.
The Reds were just happy to be part of the show.
"It's kind of nice," Aaron Boone said. "It makes it easier to get into the flow. Sometimes these games drag a little down here. All the media and the crowd pump life into you."
More than 100 members of the Japanese media are covering Matsui, the slugger the Yankees lured from Japan with a three-year, $21 million contract.
How closely do they cover him? A dozen mini-cams and boom mikes were waiting for Reds starter Ryan Dempster, the first pitcher to face Matsui.
He retired Matsui on a groundout to third.
Dempster took one look at the cameras and said: "I'm glad I'm not the guy who gave up the home run."
That was Jimmy Anderson, who followed Dempster in the pitching order.
"It was a fastball that was supposed to be up and in. It was up and over the plate," Anderson said. "(Matsui) stayed back and hit it pretty good."
It just made the final score a little closer on a day when a lot went right for the Reds.
"I was pretty pleased," Reds manager Bob Boone said. "I saw a lot of good at-bats. Dunn got off (the skids). (Felipe) Lopez and Aaron (Boone) started it right. Dempster looked pretty good. Anderson was good except for the first inning when he was rushing. Everyone threw pretty well. (Scott) Sullivan had a nice tempo."
Lopez and Boone started the game with back-to-back triples. Griffey got Boone in with a groundout to make it 2-0.
If Lopez can hit in the leadoff spot, the Reds won't have to shake up the order on days when Barry Larkin doesn't play.
Lopez, a shortstop acquired from Toronto, says he's comfortable in the first spot.
"I hit there some in the minors," he said. "I like it."
Dunn blew open the game with a grand slam in the third to make it 7-0.
"It was nice to go out and see some live pitching from guys in a different uniform," Dunn said.
The slam came off Jose Contreras, the Yankees' Cuban acquisition. The Yankees are paying him $32 million over four years.
"In that situation, all I'm trying to do is get one run in," Dunn said. "I was very surprised it went out."
It carried out the opposite way to left.
"Change-up, 3-2, bases loaded, one out," Dunn said. "I said, 'Thank you.' "
Dunn's home run was a good sign for the Reds. He is trying to come back from a second half in which he hit .190.
"I felt good out there," he said. "But it's early."
The arms: Ryan Dempster was charged with two runs, although they scored after he left the game. Left-hander Jimmy Anderson, who followed Dempster, allowed a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer to Hideki Matsui. Scott Sullivan, Lance Davis, Gabe White and Scott Williamson each pitched a scoreless inning.
The bats: Aaron Boone went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple. Adam Dunn hit a grand slam the opposite way to left. Reggie Taylor hit two solo home runs.
The rest: Brandon Larson made a nice play at third, charging in and throwing quickly to get Matsui in the first.
Up next: The Reds go to Fort Myers to play the Boston Red Sox at 1:05 p.m. The Reds' Danny Graves faces John Burkett.
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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
| CINCINNATI | NEW YORK (A) |
| ab | r | h | bi | | ab | r | h | bi |
| Lopez ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | RWhite dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dawkins ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Seguignol ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boone 2b | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Jeter ss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Olmedo 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Almonte pr | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Crespo ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Giambi 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Freel 2b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | McGuire 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Griffey, Jr. cf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Taylor cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Latham cf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kearns rf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Matsui lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mateo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rivera lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dunn lf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Posada c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Smitherman lf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Widger c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brown ph-lf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Ventura 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Guillen dh | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Zeile 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mondesi rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larson 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Thames rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guerrero ph-3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | EWilson 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| LaRue c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Phillips 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Miller c | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Hitchcock p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stefanski ph-c | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Contreras p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pena 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Weaver p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cruz 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | JAnderson p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dempster p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Choate p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| JiAnderson p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Osuna p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sullivan p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Davis p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| GWhite p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Williamson p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Totals | 38 | 9 | 12 | 9 | Totals | 36 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| Cincinnati | 205 | 010 | 001-9 |
| New York (A) | 003 | 000 | 000-3 |
E-Jeter. DP-New York 1. LOB-Cincinnati 5, New York 10. 2B-Boone, Stefanski, Latham. 3B-Lopez, Boone. HR-Taylor 2 (2), Dunn (1), Matsui (1). SB-EWilson (1). SF-Williams.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Cincinnati | | | | | | |
| Dempster W,1-0 | 2 1-3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| JiAnderson | 2 2-3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sullivan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Davis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GWhite | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Williamson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New York | | | | | | |
| Hitchcock L, 0-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Contreras | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Weaver | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| JAnderson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Choate | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osuna | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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