National League Roundup: Griffey ties Mantle in Reds' 8-3 victory
Ken Griffey Jr. wasn't overly excited about catching Mickey Mantle -- or much concerned about his latest injury.Jason LaRue's pinch-hit grand slam capped a five-run 12th inning to help the Cincinnati Reds end a five-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory yesterday against the host Atlanta Braves.
Griffey hit his 536th homer in the first, tying Mantle for 12th place on the career list. His 35th of the season came off Horacio Ramirez on a 1-0 pitch.
"I was just trying to get a pitch I could hit. It hit a little off the end of the bat and just got out," Griffey said.
Austin Kearns hit an RBI double in the 12th off Dan Kolb (3-7) to give Cincinnati a 4-3 lead. Edwin Encarnacion had a one-out single before Griffey singled him to third. Kearns followed with his double to right, scoring Encarnacion.
Griffey, however, hobbled into third and left the game with a sprained right foot. He is day to day.
Griffey, who will turn 36 in November, missed 331 games from 2001-04 with a variety of injuries, hitting only 63 homers during those four seasons.
"He's one of the greatest players ever to play the game," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "When you talk about center fielders like Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Mantle, he's up there with them. If he hadn't missed the last three-four years with injuries, he'd probably have at least 100 more homers."
Griffey said he met Mantle once, at Yankee Stadium when his father played for the Yankees.
"I was 12 or 13," said Griffey, who until his string of injuries was considered one of the players most likely to challenge Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs.
Other games
Giants 3, Diamondbacks 2: Matt Cain allowed three hits in seven innings for his first win, Randy Winn scored twice and drove in a run, and visiting San Francisco beat Arizona for its fifth victory in a row. San Francisco moved within 5 1/2 games of San Diego in the NL West.
Nationals 6, Phillies 1: Esteban Loaiza struck out 11 and took a shutout into the eighth inning on short rest, and Preston Wilson and Brian Schneider each hit a three-run homer to lead host Washington past Philadelphia. Loaiza (10-10) gave up a run, four hits and four walks, and matched his career high for strikeouts.
Cardinals 4, Astros 1: Jason Marquis pitched his second consecutive complete game and Jim Edmonds hit the go-ahead two-run double in the St. Louis victory at Houston that kept the Astros from taking over the NL wild-card lead. Marquis (11-13) had lost seven starts in a row before a two-hit shutout in his last appearance, Aug. 27 at Washington.
Mets 7, Marlins 1: Jae Seo pitched seven strong innings, Cliff Floyd hit a two-run homer and visiting New York salvaged the finale of their three-game series against Florida. Seo (7-1) limited Florida to one run and five hits.
Brewers 3, Padres 2: Brady Clark's suicide squeeze scored Corey Hart from third with one out in the ninth inning, giving host Milwaukee the victory against San Diego. Wes Helms singled to lead off against Akinori Otsuka (1-6).
Rockies 7, Dodgers 6: Brad Hawpe drove in the winning run with a single with one out in the 10th inning as Colorado completed a three-game sweep of visiting Los Angeles.
Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/
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