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Griffey hits 586th homer, Lohse dazzles as Reds roll

Jul 7, 2007 - 3:33 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Kyle Lohse tossed a complete game and Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 586th career home run as the Cincinnati Reds coasted to an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

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

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

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

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

Lohse (5-10) has been almost untouchable in his five triumphs this season, yielding just three runs with 29 strikeouts combined.

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

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

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

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

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

Robinson played his first 10 years with Cincinnati and still holds the second spot on the franchise list with 324 home runs while 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 Adam Dunn 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 Encarnacion hit a two-run, bases-loaded double to center against reliever Edgar Gonzalez.

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

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

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

"We're going through a rough stretch. That's just the way it is," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "When you go through things like that, you just have to play hard and try to minimize the damage."

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