Reds' Garrett aims to rebound vs. Pirates (May 01, 2017)

CINCINNATI -- There were concerns that Amir Garrett's last outing might hurt his confidence. Truth is, not much bothers the Cincinnati Reds' 6-foot-5, 228-pound left-hander.

The outstanding start to Garrett's career hit a speed bump last week when he gave up nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings of an 11-7 loss at Milwaukee. With a short bullpen, he was left out there to take his lumps, something manager Bryan Price regretted doing with a rookie.

However, Garrett (2-2, 5.09 ERA) didn't appear any worse for wear.

"I just wasn't myself today," Garrett said. "Everything I threw they were able to hit, they were able to capitalize on my missed pitches, which I had a lot of today. There's going to be days like this. It's how you bounce back. I am definitely going to bounce back from this."

He gets his chance Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park. Garrett has faced the Bucs once before, allowing two runs with no walks and five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings on April 12.

That was one of three wins Cincinnati got to sweep the series at PNC Park. The Reds went 9-10 against the Pirates last season, including 4-5 at home.

Garrett began his major league career with 12 scoreless innings over his first two starts before allowing a two-run homer to the Pirates' David Freese in the seventh inning on April 12. His 12-inning scoreless streak tied Billy Rhines (1890) for second longest to begin a Reds career. In 1970, Wayne Simpson began his Reds career with 15 scoreless innings.

On Monday night, Garrett will show how he responds to the first adversity he has experienced in his fledgling big-league career.

Gerrit Cole will make his 100th career start for the Pirates, hoping to reverse his fortunes against the Reds. In eight career starts against them, Cole is 0-6 with a 5.44 ERA in 43 innings. He went 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA against Cincinnati last season.

Cole (1-3, 3.60 ERA) is coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Kyle Hendricks and the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in which he gave up just one run over seven innings.

Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett has been a Cole killer in his career, batting .471 against him while with the Brewers.

Right fielder Adam Duvall went 4-for-5 with three doubles in the Reds' come-from-behind, 5-4 win at St. Louis on Sunday. He was 2-for-17 on the road trip coming in.

Cincinnati has lost 11 of 15. Pittsburgh fell 10-3 at Miami on Sunday to snap a three-game winning streak.

When the teams meet at Great American Ball Park, the beanball watch will be on again. Few matchups in the major leagues feature more hit batters than Pirates vs. Reds.

On May 11, 2016, the Reds and Bucs combined to hit six batters to tie a modern National League record.

"Just a lot went on," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said following that game.

Pirates catcher Elias Diaz is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday with Francisco Cervelli still dealing with a foot injury that hobbled him in spring training. On Sunday, Class A catcher John Bormann got an emergency call-up by Pittsburgh from Class A Bradenton merely due to his proximity to Miami, and he struck out in his major league debut.