Reds riding high heading into second game vs. Pirates So far, so good for the Cincinnati Reds and their new guys. Of course, it's only been one game - a season-opening 5-3 win at home Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will be their opponent again Saturday.Yet several acquisitions since last season already are making a difference. Derek Dietrich hit a pinch-hit three-run homer, Jose Iglesias hit two doubles and drove in a run, and David Hernandez earned a save by getting Pittsburgh's Corey Dickerson to ground out at the end of a 12-pitch at-bat with the bases loaded in the ninth."To be in the situation where we could have a player like Jose Iglesias step in, it put us in a much better situation than we would have been," Reds manager David Bell said. "Then Derek Dietrich adds such a good player off the bench. Having someone like that, who's had success pinch-hitting and being a role player, he's going to contribute a lot this year." Iglesias is starting at shortstop as part of the fallout from second baseman Scooter Gennett being out at least the first two months of the season because of a severe groin strain."I think we've brought in the right guys that have won before and have been in big games," Hernandez said. "I think over the course of the season, that will rub off on the guys. I think that's key for us to try and get off to a good start and show the guys we have what it takes to win some ballgames." And the opening win came with a bigger-named newcomer, Yasiel Puig, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts."They're a good team," Pirates losing pitcher Jameson Taillon said of the Reds. "They might need some guys in the bullpen to step up, too, but they've got some big arms. If they put that together, they could be pretty dang good. That's a tough lineup." Another newcomer, right-hander Sonny Gray (11-9, 4.90 ERA in 2018), is scheduled to start Saturday against Pittsburgh right-hander Trevor Williams (14-10, 3.11 ERA in 2018).Gray, acquired in January from the Yankees, gave up just one run with 11 strikeouts in the spring.Williams was a beast the second half of last season. After the All-Star break he was 7-3 with a 1.38 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and .217 opposing batting average.He has a new curveball he developed since the end of last season, but Williams still has the same low-key demeanor."I want to make every start," Williams told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I can't have a repeat of the same season that I did last year. That's impossible. I can either do better or do worse. How much better or how much worse? That's completely dependent on my performance on the field." Saturday could be the season debut for Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, who was a late lineup scratch Thursday because of a migraine.One Pittsburgh player who wasn't in the starting lineup the past two years had an impact Thursday. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang was 1 for 3 with a walk and knocked in the team's first two runs of the season."I don't think you take anything for granted," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of the power hitter who missed all of 2017 and nearly all of 2018 because of visa injuries related to DUIs in his native South Korea plus injuries."We've still got to see how this all plays out for him." --Field Level Media
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