 tied it in the seventh, Dietrich put the Reds up 5-2 with his pinch-hit homer off Richard Rodriguez . Dietrich got a curtain call from the crowd of 44,049, the largest for a regular season game at Great American Ball Park.Newcomer Zach Duke (1-0) retired the two batters he faced. Closer Raisel Iglesias came on in the eighth and gave up a solo homer by Corey Dickerson. Bell replaced him with two on in the ninth - another unconventional move. David Hernandez loaded the bases with a walk to Pablo Reyes before retiring Dickerson on a grounder to end it, getting his first save since 2017.Reliever Michael Lorenzen got into the game as a pinch runner in the seventh and played the last two innings in center field. He didn't have a ball hit his way.The win opened a notable season for the Reds. Commissioner Rob Manfred was grand marshal of the pregame parade that kicked off baseball's 150th anniversary celebration of the first all-professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.The Reds gave themselves an offseason makeover with three trades, including the addition of Yasiel Puig from the Dodgers. The right fielder got one of the loudest cheers - fans chanting ''PUUUUIIIIIIG!''- during pregame introductions and went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.Pittsburgh's Jung Ho Kang singled home a pair of runs in the sixth, an early return on the $3 million, one-year deal he signed last November.The Pirates open the season with a depleted outfield. Right fielder Gregory Polanco is recovering from shoulder surgery, and fill-in Lonnie Chisenhall went on the injury list pregame with a broken right index finger. Adding to the problems, center fielder Starling Marte was a late scratch from the lineup because of a migraine.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: In addition to Chisenhall, the Pirates put fifth-starter Jordan Lyles (sore right side), C Elias Diaz (virus), RH Dovydas Neverauskas (oblique) and OF Jose Osuna (neck) on the injury list. They also moved RH Edgar Santana (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day list.Reds: Put INF Alex Blandino, 2B Scooter Gennett and LH Alex Wood on the 10-day injury list.UP NEXTPirates: After an off-day Friday, Trevor Williams (14-10) tried to build upon his second-half success last season. His 1.38 ERA after the All-Star break was second-best in the majors behind Tampa Bay's Blake Snell (1.17).Reds: Sonny Gray (11-9) makes his third career against the Pirates. The Reds got him in a trade with the Yankees on Jan. 21 after he agreed to add three years to his deal worth $30.5 million through 2022.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Short-handed Reds prepare for Pirates in opener The Cincinnati Reds have been dealt a loss even before they host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in a 2019 season opener Thursday.Cincinnati underwent a rebuild last year, going 67-95, with an emphasis on youth. But a core of veterans is still critical, and one of those players won't be available for the opener and well beyond.All-star second baseman Scooter Gennett is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season because of a severe right groin strain he sustained late in the spring. He's posted a .303/.351/.508 slashline with 50 homers and 52 doubles over the past two seasons.Reds manager David Bell said he will move Jose Peraza from shortstop to second, with newcomer José Iglesias playing shortstop. The Reds will not promote touted prospect Nick Senzel -- who will be in a walking boot for one or two weeks after spraining his ankle Monday -- right away."Peraza will continue to play some shortstop," Bell said. "We still see him as a shortstop. There were concerns about moving him back to second because he worked so hard at shortstop, but the willingness of him to move made it an easy conversation." Peraza wasn't balking at the change."I don't care," he said after sitting down with Cincinnati coaches to talk about the move. "I just want to play." Right-hander Luis Castillo (10-12, 4.30 ERA in 2018) will face Pittsburgh right-hander Jameson Taillon (14-10, 3.20 ERA in 2018) as the teams' Opening Day starters.Castillo had a strong second half last season, with a 2.44 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings over 11 starts, including just four earned runs allowed in 33 innings in September."Every starting pitcher dreams of this. You want to be the Opening Day starter," Castillo said. "I've been working really hard, and I deserve this." He is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA, with nine walks and 24 strikeouts, in five lifetime starts against the Pirates.Taillon headlines a pitching staff that is expected to heavily determine how well Pittsburgh does."Pitching is important to us and what we do. Taillon is a big part of that," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "His constant work on his craft is why he is one of the guys we look to." Taillon is 4-4 with a 4.30 ERA in 12 starts, including his only career shutout, against Cincinnati.Offense, and in particular power, is a much bigger question for Pittsburgh.Jung Ho Kang, who has been named the starting third baseman, could provide some answers even while there are lingering questions.Kang amassed 36 homers and 120 RBIs in his first two seasons with the Pirates, then missed all of 2017 and all but three late games last year because of visa issues, after multiple DUI arrests in his native South Korea, and injuries."It is definitely very important, not just as a baseball player but as a person," Kang said, through an interpreter, of making the most of his return. "The Pirates gave me another chance. When I'm done playing baseball, I still want to be a better person. I'm done making bad decisions."I made that decision when the (car) accident happened. At the time, I said, 'I can't do this anymore. I have to go back to baseball.'"--Field Level Media
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