By Joe Kay
The Associated Press

Two exhibitions found some problems at Great American Ball Park - the drains get stopped up, just like the home team's offense.

The Reds completed a disappointing dry-run at their new ballpark Saturday, losing 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians. They managed two runs in two games while getting swept by their intrastate rival.

"Hopefully when it counts, we'll be able to count one," shortstop Barry Larkin said.

The wins and losses won't officially count until Monday, when the Reds open against the Pittsburgh Pirates and keep their regulars on the field. They're hoping that energizes an offense that scored two or fewer runs in seven of the last nine games.

"Come Monday, we're going to play it completely different than we have in any of these games here," manager Bob Boone said. "Still, you'd like to see some better swings."

Instead of a rousing start at the new place, the Reds played much like the team that closed Cinergy Field last September getting swept by the Philadelphia Phillies.

The two games uncovered some problems with the ballpark and its tenant.

Drain pipes backed up from heavy rain following the Indians' 6-1 victory on Friday night, leaving standing water in tunnels leading to the clubhouses and the exclusive club seats behind home plate.

The umpires' room also got flooded. Workers replaced the carpeting on Saturday morning, while others worked on the drain pumps.

"That's why we had these games, to find these things out," chief operating officer John Allen said.

The weather was dramatically different for the two games. A pleasant 74-degree evening for the opener was followed by a raw, 44-degree afternoon for Saturday's game. Players wore stocking caps, fans huddled in blankets and a few snowflakes danced along with fly balls in the swirling wind.

As it turned out, the Reds couldn't hit in the warm or the cold.

Left-hander Brian Anderson, who played at nearby Wright State, wore short sleeves and gave up three hits in five innings, including Austin Kearns' RBI single in the first inning.

Anderson had college friends in the stands and enjoyed his little piece of the new ballpark's history.

"I used to go to Riverfront Stadium all the time," Anderson said. "When they put the grass in there a couple of years ago, it helped. But my first few years with the Diamondbacks, it was brutal because the playing surface was so hot."

The Reds' first lead in their new ballpark didn't last. Tyler Minges doubled and scored on Milton Bradley's sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Travis Hafner hit his fifth homer off Jimmy Anderson for a 2-1 lead. Grady Sizemore added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Minges was delighted to play in his hometown. The minor league outfielder lives in nearby Hamilton - the hometown of Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall - and was asked to accompany the Indians for the visit a few days ago.

"I haven't lost my smile since," said Minges, who will play for Double-A Akron. "I'm ecstatic. I was a pretty big Reds fan growing up."

Notes: Reds 1B Sean Casey had X-rays and a bone scan Saturday on his right wrist, which he jammed while making a sliding catch the night before. The tests were normal, and Casey is expected to be in the opening day lineup. ... The Indians traded minor league C A.J. Hinch to Detroit for a player to be named. Hinch signed a minor league deal in December and hit .286 in 17 games with Cleveland this spring. ... The Indians will work out in Baltimore on Sunday, then open the season the next day at Camden Yards.