By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kris Benson on Monday became the answer to this trivia question: Who was the first winning pitcher at Great American Ball Park?

Benson (1-0) threw 61/3 innings, allowing no earned runs and three hits in Pittsburgh's 10-1 victory against the Reds.

Benson, who has trouble getting out of the first three innings of his starts, escaped his only serious challenge in the bottom of the third.

The Reds, trailing 6-0, loaded the bases with one out. Up came Ken Griffey Jr., who had doubled in the first inning off Benson.

Benson struck out Griffey on a full-count pitch, and although he walked Austin Kearns to force in the Reds' only run, Benson got out of the inning having allowed just one run.

"I was thinking the whole time, when he stepped in to bat, this was going to decide the game right here," Benson said of the Griffey at-bat. "If he gets a double or a base hit, they were going to get a couple of runs and get right back in the ballgame."

Benson threw 104 pitches in his first career Opening Day start. He missed the Pirates' 2001 opening of PNC Park because of an elbow injury on his right (throwing) arm.

He enjoyed the challenge of pitching before the sell-out crowd of 42,343. He struck out three before being pulled with two on and one out in the seventh inning.

"I missed the opener at our park, so it was nice to open a park anywhere," Benson said.

"It was nice to pitch before a sell-out crowd. I like the pressure of going out there and going against a team that had a lot of expectations coming into today. I like to feed off the crowd.

"It's tough to pitch in front of 4,000 people. It's a little bit easier to pitch in front of 40,000-50,000 people. It makes you a little bit more focused. It makes you concentrate more on what you have to do."

The victory upped Benson's career mark against the Reds to 3-2.

Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon liked what he saw from Benson.

"The runs early helped him relax," McClendon said. "He hit some spots."

Benson joins former Atlanta pitcher Pat Jarvis in Reds lore.

Jarvis was the winning pitcher in the Braves' 8-2 victory June 30, 1970, the first game at Riverfront Stadium.

BUCS NOTES: The Pirates will unveil a bronze statue in honor of Ralph Kiner during the April 7 home opener against Milwaukee.

Current President George W. Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch before the inaugural game at Pittsburgh's PNC Park two years ago. The Reds won that game 8-2.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com