Reds Shut Down Pirates

The trade for Juan Guzman is looking more and more like a good thing for the Cincinnati Reds. And Guzman likes his new surroundings, too.

"It's working out the way I'd hoped and the way I expected. This is something that I was praying for," Guzman said Monday night after pitching the Cincinnati Reds past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2.

"When you get a lot of runs, it makes it easy. It lets you challenge the hitters more. It's a different game when you know your teammates will score some runs for you."

"I didn't do anything different in the American League. The difference is I'm getting some runs," Guzman said.

"It makes it a lot easier to pitch. When it's a close game, you're trying to not make a mistake, and you end up trying to do too much.

"I think, in the AL, I pitched really good for the last two months. The only problem I had was I wasn't getting any run support."

If not for a pair of home runs by former teammate Ed Sprague, Guzman would have held Pittsburgh scoreless. Sprague, who played with Guzman in Toronto from 1991-98, homered in the fourth and hit his 20th home run in the seventh.

"Yeah, we're friends," Guzman said. "I was trying to make good pitches, and he hit them out. The first one was a hanging slider, and the second one was a fastball. It was a good day for him."

Guzman has worked at least seven innings in each start for Cincinnati. Both wins have been against Pittsburgh.

"All three games e's pitched for us have been well-pitched games. It's nice having a guy out there who's been in this situation before," said Reds manager Jack McKeon.

"We knew he was a good pitcher. He's been through the wars, he doesn't panic, and he knows how to get hitters out."

Former Reds pitcher Pete Schourek (3-7) lost to Cincinnati for the second time in six days. He allowed four hits, four walks and struck out two in 2 2-3 innings.

"His shoulder is bothering him a little bit, but I think he'll be all right," said Pittsburgh manager Gene Lamont. "He was wild in the strike zone again. He's struggled with his control all year."

Lamont said he lifted Schourek early because he didn't want the Pirates to have to overcome too large a deficit.

"He just didn't look like he was going to hold them. It didn't look like he had his good stuff," Lamont said. "And we haven't broken lose offensively in a long while."

Pokey Reese's three-run homer keyed a four-run second inning for the NL Central leaders. Mike Cameron also homered for the Reds.

"We were talking earlier about how different guys have been picking the club up all year, and tonight, Pokey hits a three-run homer to give us a cushion," McKeon said. "Every night, it's a different guy."

Greg Vaughn walked to lead off the Reds' second and Barry Larkin doubled. Vaughn scored on a groundout by Eddie Taubensee and Aaron Boone walked, setting up Reese's eighth homer.

Dmitri Young doubled to lead off the third and scored on Boone's two-out single.

Jimmy Anderson gave up three more runs in the seventh on a wild pitch and sacrifice flies by Taubensee and Boone. Anderson had walked all three base runners who scored.

Cameron hit his 16th homer in the eighth.

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