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Griffey, Reds eyeing fourth straight win

Jul 1, 2008 - 2:16 PM Pittsburgh (38-44) at Cincinnati (39-45), 7:10 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. may have 603 career home runs, but his last one was certainly a memorable one.

Griffey will attempt to add to his Hall of Fame resume when the Cincinnati Reds go for their fourth consecutive victory, hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game series.

After entering the game as a defensive replacement, Griffey blasted a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning to lift the Reds to a 4-3 triumph over the Pirates on Monday. It was Griffey's 10th blast of the season.

"You just have to be ready," Griffey said of entering the game late. "And I knew if it was close that I was going to have a chance to swing the bat. So, an opportunity came about and I was able to get up there and help the team win."

Pittsburgh hopes lefthander Zach Duke (4-5, 3.99 ERA) is up to the challenge of containing Griffey and the rest of the Reds' offense. Duke gave up four runs - three earned - and seven hits over five frames in Wednesday's 10-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

Cincinnati will counter with Dominican righthander Edinson Volquez (10-3, 2.08 ERA), who owns the best ERA in the National League and is ranked second with 110 strikeouts - just four behind San Francisco's Tim Lincecum.

The 24-year-old Volquez was tagged for seven runs - five earned - on six hits and three walks with no strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings during Thursday's 7-1 setback to the Toronto Blue Jays.