Griffey Expected In Lineup One-Game Rehab Outing Less Than Stunning, But He’s Cleared To Return To Full-Time Duty

Ken Griffey Jr. returns to the Seattle Mariners lineup tonight, facing a pitcher who once no-hit Junior’s high school team.

“Wouldn’t deja vu be nice?” Minnesota Twins right-hander Scott Klingenbeck said Monday. “I haven’t faced him since then.”

Griffey last saw major-league pitching on May 26 when he crashed into the Kingdome fence, shattering his left wrist.

He was examined in Seattle Monday and cleared to play, then traveled to Minneapolis, arriving shortly after the Mariners’ series opener here.

“He’s anxious to get started and we’re anxious to have him back,” M’s manager Lou Piniella said.

Griffey is expected to play center field and bat either second or third in the lineup.

Piniella probably will sit down with his superstar today and discuss which spot will be best as he returns from a 2-1/2-month layoff.

“We’re going to go day by day with him,” Piniella said. “If we have to give him an occasional day off, we can do that, too. But we plan to chat with him daily to see how he feels.”

Griffey was the designated hitter for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers on Sunday, going 0 for 3 with two groundouts and a strikeout in a one-game rehabilitation outing.

“The report was nothing significant,” Piniella said. “He said he felt more comfortable on his last at-bat and took better swings.”

Klingenbeck, who is represented by Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, said he’s looking forward to Junior’s return.

“It should be a lot of fun,” the Minnesota pitcher said. “He already has made a name for himself and I’m still trying to make a name for myself.”

Klingenbeck recalled a game he pitched for Cincinnati’s Elder High in 1987 as a sophomore against Griffey’s powerful Moeller High team.

“I don’t remember how I did against him,” Klingenbeck said, “but he obviously didn’t get a hit.”