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Griffey still eyeing No. 600 as Marlins host Reds

Jun 6, 2008 - 2:30 PM Cincinnati (29-32) at Florida (32-27), 7:10 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- MIAMI (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. will look to become the sixth member of the 600 home run club when the Cincinnati Reds open a four-game series against the Florida Marlins on Friday.

Griffey went 1-for-4 and nearly hit his milestone blast on two different occasions during Thursday's 5-0 setback to the Philadelphia Phillies, but the future Hall of Fame outfielder also committed a crucial fielding error.

The 38-year-old right fielder, who has been stuck on 599 career homers since May 31, settled for a double when his deep drive to left-center took one hop off the fence in the third frame and flied out to deep center in the ninth.

"(Griffey's still) struggling a little bit," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He has a lot of miles on that body."

Griffey will hope to record his historic home run off Marlins 23-year-old starter Andrew Miller (4-4, 5.37 ERA), who gave up three runs - two earned - over five innings and did not figure in Sunday's 7-5 setback to the Phillies.

Miller will try to avoid the same fate as teammate Ricky Nolasco, who surrendered a milestone homer to Chipper Jones - his 400th career blast - in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

That loss ended a rough road trip for Florida, which finished up 3-7 in visits with the New York Mets, Phillies and Braves.

The Reds will counter with rookie righthander Johnny Cueto (4-5, 5.11), who is seeking his third consecutive win. The 22-year-old yielded two runs and four hits with three strikeouts over seven frames during a 6-2 triumph over the Braves on Sunday.