By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ken Griffey Jr. was back in the lineup Thursday night after missing two starts with a sore right hamstring. But he was in a very unfamiliar spot.

Griffey batted fifth, the lowest he has been in the order since June 22, 1990 at Texas. Thursday was the 121st time in his career he has hit fifth. All those happened in 1989 and '90, his first two years in the majors.

Reds manager Dave Miley said the reason Griffey was dropped from the third spot was to help the center fielder get going at the plate.

"The way (Sean) Casey and (Adam) Dunn are swinging it, myself and some of coaches think it could jump-start Junior," Miley said. "Those guys are getting on base. He's going to be hitting in RBI situations."

Dunn (.522) and Casey (.437) were second and eighth in National League in on-base percentage entering Thursday.

Griffey seemed less than enthralled with the move.

"I've got no choice," said Griffey, who responded by going 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBI Thursday in the Reds' 9-6 win vs. Milwaukee.

Griffey came into Thursday's game hitting only .226 with three home runs and 14 RBI. He was batting .190 since the first four games of the season and had not homered since April 16. The 64-at-bat homer drought was his longest since May 1993.

The numbers support Miley's theory that hitting with runners on base will help Griffey.

He came into Thursday's game hitting .353 (6-for-17) with runners in scoring position.

Miley made a point to tell Griffey that he was hitting fifth before the lineup was posted.

"He deserves that out of respect," Miley said.

Dunn may see more pitches to hit with Griffey batting behind him. Entering Thursday, Dunn had walked 35 times this season, second in the NL to Barry Bonds' 44.

"Obviously, Junior is capable of the hitting the ball very, very well," Miley said. "He's got that presence in the lineup."

Griffey has hit lower than fifth just 35 times in his career. He has hit sixth 32 times and seventh three times.

ACEVEDO UPDATE: Right-hander Jose Acevedo expects to be able make his next start after leaving Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

"It's fine," he said. "A little sore. I don't think I'll miss a start."

Acevedo did not play catch Thursday as is customary the day after a start. But he planned to throw a side session today.

Acevedo's next start is slated for Tuesday in the opening game of the three-game series in San Diego.

KEARNS UPDATE: Austin Kearns was fine Thursday after taking batting practice in the cage on Wednesday.

Kearns is on the disabled list with a broken left forearm. The outfielder is eligible to come off the DL Wednesday. He thinks he'll be close to being ready by then.

"I don't have any swelling," he said, "just a little soreness."

Kearns says he expects to know more this weekend. He hasn't been told yet if he's going on the six-game trip to San Diego and Los Angeles.

20 IS E-NOUGH: The Reds have committed 20 errors. That tied them with San Francisco and Arizona for the most in the National League.

But Miley is still pleased with the overall defensive play. The majority of the errors have come from two spots: third base (eight) and catcher (six).

"We've got guys playing good defense," Miley said, citing D'Angelo Jimenez, Barry Larkin, Casey and all the outfielders. "We had five errors in one game and three in another. Subtract that and we have 12 errors."

Brandon Larson has four errors in 10 games.

"The one thing I see is he's charging balls when doesn't have to," Miley said. "He's probably been overaggressive."

TIME CHANGE: The Reds' Sept. 8 game in Houston has been switched from an 8:05 p.m. start to a 2:05 p.m. start.

FARM REPORT: Bubba Nelson, the right-hander obtained in the Chris Reitsma trade with Atlanta, continues to struggle at Triple-A Louisville. Nelson gave up eight runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings in a 9-7 loss to Durham Wednesday. He is 0-4 with a 6.57 ERA.

Reggie Taylor went 2-for-4 and hit his fifth home run.

Luke Hudson, who pitched five shutout innings in his first start at Double-A Chattanooga, was lit up for six runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings in the Lookouts' 9-2 loss to Tennessee Thursday afternoon.