GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: ARIZONA (47-40) at CINCINNATI (33-52)

Griffey hits 586th homer, Lohse dazzles as Reds roll

<h3>CINCINNATI 8, ARIZONA 1</h3>CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Kyle Lohse tossed a complete game andKen Griffey Jr. hit his 586th career home run as the CincinnatiReds coasted to an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks onFriday.

Lohse limited the Diamondbacks to four hits with five strikeoutsand two walks in picking up back-to-back wins for the firsttime since August 20-25 as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

The 28-year-old righthander, who threw his first shutout of theseason on May 28 against Pittsburgh, was en route to recordinghis second until Chad Tracy's RBI groundout in the ninth.

Lohse (5-10) has been almost untouchable in his five triumphsthis season, yielding just three runs with 28 strikeoutscombined.

In the fifth inning, Josh Hamilton hit an RBI double off thewall and came around when Griffey delivered a 0-1 pitch fromArizona rookie Micah Owings into the right-center field seatsfor his 23rd of the season, creating 6-0 cushion.

Griffey's blast tied him with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson forsixth place on the all-time list and leaves him just 14 shy ofjoining the exclusive 600-homer club.

Cincinnati opened the scoring in the first, when slugger AdamDunn belted a two-run homer - his 24th - against Owings (5-4),who also gave up solo shot to Brandon Phillips two frames later.

The Reds added two more runs in the seventh as Edwin Encarnacionhit a two-run, bases-loaded double to center against relieverEdgar Gonzalez.

Owings lasted 4 2/3 frames, giving up six runs and six hits ashe continues to falter following a stellar start this season.The 24-year-old begin the campaign with a 5-1 mark before goingwinless in his last four outings.

 

Griffey hits 586th homer, Lohse dazzles as Reds roll

<h3>CINCINNATI 8, ARIZONA 1</h3>CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Kyle Lohse tossed a complete game andKen Griffey Jr. hit his 586th career home run as the CincinnatiReds coasted to an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks onFriday.

Lohse limited the Diamondbacks to four hits with five strikeoutsand two walks in picking up back-to-back wins for the firsttime since August 20-25 as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

The 28-year-old righthander, who threw his first shutout of theseason on May 28 against Pittsburgh, was en route to recordinghis second until Chad Tracy's RBI groundout in the ninth.

The win was the third in four tries since Reds interim managerPete Mackanin took over for the fired Jerry Narron.

"It was one of the nicest game to watch," Mackanin said. "Ifelt like I was in a rocking chair. I didn't think he waslosing it. I'm just disappointed that he didn't get the one-hitshutout."

Lohse (5-10) has been almost untouchable in his five triumphsthis season, yielding just three runs with 29 strikeoutscombined.

"I felt really good," Lohse said. "My fastball was running awayfrom righthanders. They hit the ball off the end of the bat alot. It felt good to get out of that jam in the ninth. Ithelps when the team scores a lot of run. I appreciate thechance to go back out there."

However, Lohse has been a completely different pitcher in his 10losses, posting a lackluster 8.76 ERA.

"I wish I could bottle (Friday's) game and sell it," Mackaninsaid. "This game is all about consistency. Some days you're insync and other days you can't do a thing about it. If you arein sync eight out of 10 times, you're special."

In the fifth inning, Josh Hamilton hit an RBI double off thewall and came around when Griffey delivered a 0-1 pitch fromArizona rookie Micah Owings into the right-center field seatsfor his 23rd of the season, creating 6-0 cushion.

Griffey's blast tied him with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson forsixth place on the all-time list and leaves him just 14 shy ofjoining the exclusive 600-homer club.

Robinson played his first 10 years with Cincinnati and stillholds the second spot on the franchise list with 324 home runswhile Griffey, who left before the media could get his reaction,has 188 homers with the club.

Cincinnati opened the scoring in the first, when slugger AdamDunn belted a two-run homer - his 24th - against Owings (5-4),who also gave up solo shot to Brandon Phillips two frames later.

The Reds added two more runs in the seventh as Edwin Encarnacionhit a two-run, bases-loaded double to center against relieverEdgar Gonzalez.

Owings lasted 4 2/3 frames, giving up six runs and six hits ashe continues to falter following a stellar start this season.The 24-year-old begin the campaign with a 5-1 mark before goingwinless in his last four outings.

"I felt good," Owings said. "I just didn't get the job done. Ihave to get better for my team."

Arizona has lost six out of its last seven games and has scoredjust 18 runs, highlighted by seven in the only victory over thestretch.

"We're going through a rough stretch. That's just the way itis," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "When you go through<div class="pre">things like that, you just have to play hard and try to</div>minimize the damage."

The Reds won consecutive games for the first time since June 7-8and have won back-to-back contests just six times thiscampaign.