Untouchable Online

CINCINNATI -- They are normally the cornerstones of the Reds' offensive production.
Yet right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. came into Friday without a home run in his last 67 at-bats. Left fielder Adam Dunn entered the night batting just .207.

What gives?

"I don't feel as bad as the numbers stink," said Dunn, who had seven homers and 20 RBIs. "I don't know how else to explain it. Normally when I stink, I feel like it. For me, it's just weird. I have no excuse. I feel great. My body feels great. I'm seeing the ball good. I've got nothing. That's why I know there's light at the tunnel though."

That light can't come soon enough for the Reds, who find themselves at the bottom of the National League Central Division standings despite coming in on the heels of a three-game winning streak. The team is ranked 11th in the National League in runs scored.

Griffey is ranked sixth all-time with 597 career homers. The club's special counter to his 600-homer milestone, located between the right-center-field smokestacks, hasn't changed since he last went deep on April 23 vs. the Astros.

"I'm just trying to lump them together," joked Griffey, who has four homers on the season. "I'm saving them for an explosion."

"You know they're not going to stay in this funk forever," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I'd like to believe that every day, they're that much closer to breaking out. It's hard to keep guys from doing what they normally do for a long period of time."

Dunn has hit exactly 40 home runs in each of the past three years, and had 46 in 2004. He has also tallied 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in three of the past four seasons.

"When you're going bad, you know you're going to stink," said Dunn, who batted in the No. 7 spot for the fourth straight game. "You say, 'Hopefully this is the day I come out of it. This is the day I see it better.' I don't have that. I don't go out there saying, 'I have no chance today.' I know I have a chance, because I feel good and I'm seeing it good. There's just not good results."



Last season, Griffey hit 30 homers while playing in 144 games. This year, the 38-year-old Griffey has appeared a step slower. May has historically been one of his best months of the season. Prior to this year, he batted .296 in May, and his 129 May homers are the most of any month.

"I know it's eating Dunn up quite a bit," Baker said. "I know it's eating Junior up too, but he just shows it differently. The longer they go, the more somebody is in trouble."

I have alwaays been a Griffey fan. too bad hes hurt so much.

his numbers woud be huge if he didnt miss the time.

like huge... more then Bonds even.