Pirates Taken To The Woodshed By Reds 14-1

Today's Game: Wade Miley flipped a 1-2-3 first frame; Tyler Naquin knocked Trevor Cahill's fourth pitch over the fence before the righty settled in with a pair of K. The Pirates got a walk in the second and the Reds got some ball luck as a pair of bloops dropped to put Redlegs on the corners. A single through the left side made it 2-0 and a soft roller to second moved the runners up a notch. After a whiff, Naquin homered again and the game was waving bye-bye at 5-0. There was no third inning noise from the Bucs, and a single-pop-GIDP made for a calm Cincy half. Bryan Reynolds doubled with a out in the fourth to no avail. A leadoff single for Queen City moved to third on a very wide pickoff throw and plated on a sac fly. Another single, wild pitch, deflected ball off Cahill and bouncer made it 7-0. 

Phil the Thrill does it all - image MLB.com

It was another big nada in the fifth for Pittsburgh and Clay Holmes got the ball. A couple of walks around a single got him in the jackpot with an out, and it got worse. After 30 pitches and the score at 10-0, Duane Underwood was waved in, and a dink and double made it an even dozen for the Redlegs. Subs flew around like a spring back lot game. The Reds got a couple more off Underwood in the sixth with a two-out single, triple, single trifecta and Phil Evans went deep of Sal Romano to avert the shutout in the seventh. Underwood and Richard Rodriguez got out of the seventh unscathed and jack-of-all-trades Evans tossed a clean eighth inning after another Pirates goose egg. The final dash of salt to the wound: Carson Fulmer tucked the Bucs away in the ninth.

Let's hope Chad Kuhl can salvage a little Pittsburgh pride tomorrow afternoon. 

Notes:

• Holy '27 Yankees: the Reds have scored 46 runs in their first five games.
• BTW, Gregory Polanco wasn't benched for some refresher work; he's just getting a scheduled day off against a lefty per Shelty.
• Pitt, a borderline Top 25 baseball nine this year, ended a six-game losing streak to WVU with a 5-1 victory at the Cost Center this afternoon.

Tomorrow's Game: It's a 12:35 getaway day before the Bucs Home Opener, and the finale will be on AT&T SportsNet & MLB Network (out of market), with radio coverage on 100.1 FM/1020 KDKA AM. The opposing twirlers are righties Chad Kuhl and Luis Castillo.