(Sports Network) - The Cincinnati Reds officially enter the post-Ken Griffey Jr. era tonight when they head to Nationals Park for the first of a three-game weekend series with the host Washington Nationals.

Cincinnati sent its hometown hero and All-Century player back to the American League on Thursday, trading him to the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitcher Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar.

Griffey, 38, hit .245 with 15 home runs and 53 runs batted in this season for the Reds, who are tied for fourth place in the NL Central, 14 games behind the Chicago Cubs. He hit his 600th career home run earlier this season, becoming the sixth major-league player to do so. With 608 homers, Griffey is one shy of tying Sammy Sosa for fifth on the all-time list.

He came to Cincinnati amid much hype in 2000, but was persistently hampered by injuries and never approached the numbers he'd produced while playing 11 seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

Masset was 1-0 with one save and a 4.63 earned-run average in 32 games with the White Sox this season. The 26-year-old right-hander is 3-3 with one save and a 5.63 ERA in 67 career major-league games with Texas and Chicago.

Richar, 25, hit .262 with nine home runs, 39 RBI and 11 stolen bases with Triple-A Charlotte. The second baseman batted .230 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 56 games with the White Sox in 2007.

Lanky Texan Homer Bailey gets the start on the mound for the Reds against Washington, with hopes of reversing fortunes from a disastrous start six days ago against Colorado.

In that home outing on July 26, the former first-round draft pick (seventh overall, 2004) was ripped for 15 hits and four earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings of a 5-1 defeat, his fourth in four decisions this season.

The Reds are 0-6 in Bailey's starts this season after he went 4-2 in nine starts as a first-year player in 2007.

The 22-year-old right-hander has never faced the Nationals.

Veteran lefty Odalis Perez seeks just his second win since the end of May for Washington.

Perez, who made his big-league debut the year Bailey turned 13, is just 1-4 in seven starts since a May 28 victory at San Diego, in which he allowed six hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings.

He was tagged for eight hits and six runs over four innings in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 26 and has given up at least eight hits in his last three appearances.

Perez is 0-4 in nine home starts this season, though he's posted a 2.44 earned run average in 44 1/3 innings.

On Thursday in Washington, Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer, drove in three and scored twice to back a strong showing from Kyle Kendrick, as the Philadelphia Phillies brought out the brooms in an 8-4 victory to complete a three-game sweep.

John Lannan (6-11) labored through 5 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs -- six earned -- on nine hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. Jesus Flores drove home a run for the Nationals, losers in nine straight contests.

On Wednesday in Houston, Griffey belted a three-run homer, the last of his stay with the Reds, to help Cincinnati to a 9-5 victory over the Astros in the finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.

Adam Dunn hit his major league-leading 31st and 32nd home runs en route to a three-hit night for the Reds, who halted a five-game slide. Edwin Encarnacion also homered as the Reds beat the Astros for the first time in nine meetings dating back to last year.

Edinson Volquez (13-4) earned the victory after allowing only one earned run in 6 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old surrendered a total of five runs, six hits and one walk, while striking out five.

Cincinnati has won all four of its matchups with the Nationals this season.