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Pirates, Reds try to complete two games in Cincy

Apr 15, 2014 - 2:59 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - All the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds did on a rainy Monday night at Great American Ball Park was combine for 10 home runs through just six innings before a weather delay eventually suspended the contest.

The Pirates and Reds will get a chance to extend that record-setting performance on Tuesday evening as they will resume that contest before taking part in the second contest of this three-game set later in the night.

The opener will pick up at 5:30 p.m. ET with the score tied at 7-7 after both clubs put on a power display. The Pirates connected on back-to-back homers on three different occasions in the game, while three of the Reds' four home runs came with a runner on.

The combined 10 home runs set a new record for Great American Ball Park and the three sets of back-to-back homers marks the first time that has happened since the Boston Red Sox did so on June 17, 1977.

Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez clubbed back-to-back shots to open the second and sixth innings, while Starling Marte and Travis Snider did it to start the fifth.

"Small park, a lot of wind, the rain ... and the ball carries well here, regardless," Walker told his team's website. "I know we hit some balls we didn't think would get out, but did."

Todd Frazier, Ryan Ludwick and Joey Votto all hit two-run homers for the Reds, while Devin Mesoraco tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth.

After finishing up the opener, the second game of this set is expected to start at 7:10 p.m. ET, with Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole in line to start against Mike Leake of Cincinnati.

Cole will face the Reds for the first time in his career and has won six straight regular-season starts dating back to last year. That includes a win in his first two outings of 2014, and the 23-year-old righty is coming off a 5-4 win at the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

Though Cole struck out 10 batters in six innings of work, he also allowed four runs on five hits and two walks. One run he yielded was unearned.

"I pitched OK. Fortunately we played a great game as a team," said Cole. "In those kind of games you have to keep grinding and try to give your teams as many innings as you can and try to outlast the other guy."

Leake has split his first two outings of the season, giving up four runs over 6 2/3 frames of a loss in his season opener on April 4 at the New York Mets. He then faced the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday and rebounded with eight scoreless innings of four-hit ball in a 4-0 victory.

The 26-year-old righty went 3-0 with a 3.28 earned run average in four starts versus the Pirates a season ago.

The Pirates won 11 of their 19 meetings with the Reds last season, capping the series with a three-game sweep in Cincinnati from Sept. 27-29.