By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds starting pitcher Ryan Dempster reacts after allowing a two-run homer to Randall Simon in the fifth inning Wednesday night. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

The Reds' start Wednesday against the Pirates at Great American Ball Park was their most promising in a long time.

But by the ninth inning, it was back to the same old problems.

The Cincinnati bullpen let an early lead slip and allowed two Pittsburgh home runs in the eighth and ninth innings in the Reds' 6-5 loss before 27, 629 fans.

The loss dropped the Reds a season-high 11 1/2 games behind Houston in the National League Central. They have gone 1-6 so far on their eight-game homestand, which concludes today against the Pirates at 12:35 p.m.

With the game tied at 5 in the ninth, outfielder Matt Stairs hit the Pirates' third home run of the night, off reliever Kent Mercker, to give the Pirates the lead.

"I was just lucky to get that one," Stairs said.

Mercker gave up two home runs in his previous trip to the mound, against Milwaukee on Monday.

Jose Guillen (left) met Barry Larkin at home plate Wednesday in the first inning as the Reds took a 3-0 lead over Pittsburgh. It didn't last, however, and the Pirates pulled out a 6-5 win. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

"It was a hanging slider. Not a bad idea, just bad location," he said.

Mercker wasn't the only reliever at fault. It took Chris Reitsma only one pitch to give up a home run.

The Pirates came into Wednesday's game off a trade with the Cubs that sent their fifth- and sixth-best hitters - Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton - to Chicago for a minor-league pitcher and infielder Jose Hernandez.

Hernandez made the most of his move, hitting a homer off Reitsma's first pitch in the game to tie the score at 5 in the eighth. Hernandez, who leads the National League in strikeouts, had struck out twice and popped out once before the blast.

"They should have traded Stairs," Mercker joked after the game, but Reds starter Ryan Dempster wasn't in a mood to laugh.

"Unless you have a shutout going here, you can't win the game," Dempster said.

"It's a confidence thing. It's a tough enough game as it is when you have the confidence, but when nobody behind you is showing any ... You're always looking over your shoulder all the time."

Dempster gave up eight hits and four runs, including a Randall Simon home run in the fifth, through five innings.

And for the first time since May 13, the Reds totaled five hits in the first inning.

D'Angelo Jimenez extended his hitting streak to 13 games by driving a single to right field. Barry Larkin singled and Jose Guillen doubled to drive in Jimenez. Sean Casey hit a hard single that bounced past first base to score Larkin and Guillen.

It's usually Reds' opponents who get that kind of opening inning. Reds pitchers came in with a 7.91 ERA in the first inning this season.

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Kendall c	4	1	2	0	1	0	.310
JWilson ss	5	0	0	0	0	1	.241
Bgiles cf-lf	5	0	2	2	0	0	.303
Stairs rf	3	2	2	1	2	1	.294
Lincoln p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
RSanders lf-rf	5	0	1	0	0	2	.257
Simon 1b	3	1	2	2	1	0	.276
Hyzdu ph-cf	1	0	0	0	0	1	.189
JHernandez 3b	4	1	1	1	0	2	.227
ANunez 2b	4	0	1	0	0	0	.221
Suppan p	2	1	1	0	0	1	.297
CWilson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Boehringer p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Rivera 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	.194
Totals	37	6	12	6	4	8

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
DJimenez 2b	5	1	3	0	0	0	.357
Larkin ss	3	2	2	0	0	0	.274
Jcastro ss	1	0	0	0	0	0	.238
JGuillen rf	5	2	2	2	0	1	.341
Casey 1b	3	0	1	2	2	0	.305
Taylor pr	0	0	0	0	0	0	.223
ABoone 3b	5	0	1	1	0	3	.270
RMateo cf	4	0	0	0	0	0	.232
Dunn lf	4	0	1	0	0	0	.205
Stinnett c	4	0	1	0	0	1	.257
Dempster p	2	0	0	0	0	0	.032
Reith p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Larson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.075
Heredia p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Branyan ph	0	0	0	0	1	0	.235
Mercker p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Totals	37	5	11	5	3	5

Pittsburgh	000	220	011	-6	12	0
Cincinnati	300	020	000	-5	11	0

LOB-Pitt. 9, Cin. 9. 2B-BGiles (20), RSanders (12), DJimenez 2 (4), JGuillen 2 (20). HR-Stairs (12), off Mercker; JHernandez (11), off Reitsma; Simon (8), off Dempster. RBIs-BGiles 2 (50), Stairs (26), Simon 2 (42), JHernandez (37), JGuillen 2 (57), Casey 2 (51), ABoone (62).

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Suppan	7	10	5	5	1	4	112	3.82
Boehringer W, 5-2	1	1	0	0	1	0	15	5.80
Lincoln S, 3	1	0	0	0	1	1	15	1.46

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Dempster	5	8	4	4	4	3	101	6.63
Reith H, 3	1	0	0	0	0	2	14	4.06
Heredia H, 3	1	1	0	0	0	1	13	2.84
Reitsma BS, 3	1	2	1	1	0	0	12	4.25
Mercker L, 0-2	1	1	1	1	0	2	19	2.97

IBB-off Suppan (Casey) 1.

T-2:46. A-27,629 (42,263).