Reds at Pirates
Billy Hamilton looks to continue causing havoc at the top of the batting order for the Cincinnati Reds when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in search of their sixth win in seven games. Hamilton recorded three hits, stole two bases and scored a pair of runs in Monday's series-opening 7-1 victory on Monday and is batting .346 overall while going 8-for-19 over his last four games.
The Reds have posted 15 runs in the last two games and have scored at least seven three times in their first seven contests, with Adam Duvall playing a big role (9-for-27, two homers, six RBIs). Cincinnati turns to Rookie Davis, who struggled in his major-league debut, while Pittsburgh counters with promising 25-year-old Jameson Taillon in the middle contest of the three-game set. The Pirates had won three straight before Monday’s setback in which they were limited to four hits as they fell to .500 on the season (3-3). Former MVP Andrew McCutchen recorded a hit and scored the only run for Pittsburgh but still is just 4-for-24 on the year, while Starling Marte is 9-for-21 with four RBIs over his last five games.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Rookie Davis (0-0, 12.00 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Jameson Taillon (0-0, 0.00)
Davis threw 74 pitches in three innings against Philadelphia on Thursday, when he yielded four runs and five hits - including two homers - before the Reds rallied for a 7-4 victory. The 23-year-old North Carolina native, who combined to go 10-5 with a 3.82 ERA in Double- and Triple-A last season, struck out four and walked a pair in his debut after striking out 17 over 15 2/3 frames during the spring. Davis was selected in the 14th round of the 2011 draft by the New York Yankees and was acquired by the Reds in the trade for Aroldis Chapman.
Taillon was outstanding in his season debut as he allowed five hits and struck out six over seven scoreless innings before Boston posted a 3-0 win. The 25-year-old Floridian was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft and missed 2014 due to Tommy John surgery and the following season with a sports hernia, but he made his major-league debut last year - going 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 18 starts. Jose Peraza is 3-for-3 and Duvall has homered against Taillon, who went 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts versus the Reds in 2016.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati SS Zack Cozart, who hit safely in the first six games of the season (9-for-20), was a late scratch Monday due to a sore wrist.
2. Pittsburgh 2B Josh Harrison sat out Monday’s contest after getting hit by a pitch on the leg the previous day.
3. The Reds have hit at least one home run in each of their first seven contests - their longest such streak to open a campaign since 2000 (nine).