Reds try to continue mastery of Pirates (Aug 02, 2017)
PITTSBURGH -- The better the Cincinnati Reds do against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the more the ongoing series at PNC Park looks like a few games between also-rans.
The Reds (43-63) certainly don't appear to be going anywhere this season. They sit last in the National League Central.
Cincinnati's mastery over Pittsburgh is a noticeable reason why the Pirates (51-55) have been unable to climb into contention in the same division. Pittsburgh is 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.
The Reds beat the Pirates 9-1 on Tuesday in the opener of the three-game series. Cincinnati is 7-1 this season against Pittsburgh, which was coming off a dismal 3-6 road trip but had won five in a row at home.
The Pirates mostly stood pat Monday at the non-waiver trade deadline, so it appears what they have is what they are going with the rest of the way outside of minor league call-ups.
"Just work with what we've got here," said Pittsburgh center fielder and franchise player Andrew McCutchen, the subject of trade speculation for a year or more. "That's other guys' jobs to (manage the roster), not mine."
When it was pointed out to McCutchen that the Cubs were an example of a club that made significant moves leading up to or at the deadline while the Pirates did not, McCutchen said: "They're also in first place; we're not. That has a lot to do with it, I'm sure.
"We have to look at ourselves before we look at anyone else. We have to address ourselves before we address anyone else."
The one major league player Pittsburgh added Monday, 40-year-old reliever Joaquin Benoit, came from a team vying to be the worst in the majors, the Philadelphia Phillies. So perhaps his perspective is skewed, but as he joined his eighth big-league club, Benoit expressed optimism.
"It's a fresh start," he said. "Hopefully, I can contribute to something good here and we can play some October baseball."
Reds right-hander Robert Stephenson (0-4, 7.86 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start and 16th appearance of the season Wednesday. In four career appearances (two starts) against Pittsburgh, all since May 2016, he is 0-0 with an 8.53 ERA.
Command has been elusive for the 24-year-old.
"You don't have to hit a gnat's backside to have command," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "But be down in the zone and be able to cover the bottom part of the strike zone when you need to be down there. That's been a tough challenge for Robert here for a bit.
"The kid wants nothing more to do than hit his spot. This isn't happening because he doesn't believe he can get hitters out. We just haven't been able to crack the code on the delivery that's going to provide the consistent quality strike."
That really showed Thursday in a 4-1 loss at Miami. Stephenson gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings and issued a career-high seven walks.
"My mechanics have been fine," Stephenson told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
He blamed being overly aggressive for the seven walks.
"I knew what was going on; I was just never able to fix it," Stephenson said.
Pittsburgh's Wednesday starter, Trevor Williams (4-4, 4.53 ERA), has settled into the rotation fairly nicely after beginning the season in the bullpen.
Since he gave up eight runs (six earned) in three innings May 8 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first start, he is 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA over 14 turns.
Williams is 1-0 with a 10.00 ERA in four career appearances (one start) against the Reds. In two relief appearances against Cincinnati early this season before he moved into a starting role, Williams gave up a combined four runs in four innings.
