Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Box Score on Jul 20, 2018

Sean Rodriguez, just off the disabled list, homered and drove in four runs, Starling Marte hit a grand slam and Corey Dickerson also homered as the red-hot Pittsburgh Pirates won their seventh straight, defeating the host Cincinnati Reds 12-1 on Friday night.

Heavy rain Friday delayed the start of the game by almost three hours.

Rodriguez, who had been out since June 24 with a quadriceps injury and was hitting just .145, was activated before the game and playing second base for Josh Harrison, out with hamstring discomfort.

After singling in a run in the fourth inning, Rodriguez crushed a hanging slider off Reds rookie starter Tyler Mahle in the sixth for a three-run homer. It was Rodriguez's fourth homer of the season and his first since April 21.

Dickerson homered later in the sixth, his eighth, to drive Mahle (7-8) from the game. In 5 2/3 innings, he allowed six runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts. He threw 111 pitches.

Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon (7-7), meanwhile, pitched around early-inning base runners. In 5 1/3 innings, he gave up just one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out six in throwing 100 pitches.

Colin Moran, who had four of the Pirates' 16 hits, led off the sixth with a single, and Josh Bell walked before Rodriguez, who also finished with three hits, launched his 407-foot blast to left field. Two outs later, Dickerson ripped a 403-foot bomb to right-center.

Elias Diaz also had three hits for the Pirates.

Rookie Jesse Winker had three of Cincinnati's nine hits, including a double to drive in Scooter Gennett in the sixth. Winker extended his hitting streak to 11 games and is hitting .500 (19-for-38) in that span.

Marte doubled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, matching his career best, before crushing a pitch 421 feet to right-center in the eighth inning for the second slam of his career.

Reds second baseman Alex Blandino left the game in the top of the ninth inning with an apparent right knee injury when Max Moroff slid awkwardly on the wet dirt on a force at second and rolled into Blandino, who was unable to put pressure on his right leg.

--Field Level Media