Jul 18, 2002 By Alan Robinson Ap Sports Writer 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Some players insist it doesn’t matter when they play against their former team, that it’s just another game. Pokey Reese isn’t one of those. Reese drove in four runs with a two-run homer and a single and Jimmy Anderson, pulled early by his unhappy manager in his last start, pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 Wednesday night.

Reese put the Pirates ahead 2-1 in the second with a two-run single that followed Kevin Young’s leadoff single and Chad Hermansen’s double. His homer – only his second of the season – came in the sixth against Ryan Dempster (5-10), who made his second straight ineffective start with the Reds.

“That was the Pokey show tonight,” said Aaron Boone, who played in the Reds infield with Reese last season. “He definitely was special out there. He obviously really hurt us with the bat.”

And with his glove. Reese, the Pirates’ second baseman, drew only his second error of the season on a tough call in the third when he misplayed Austin Kearns’ grounder while scrambling to cover second base. But he also made the defensive play of the game, running into center field to make a backhanded grab of Boone’s fly ball to end the seventh.

“I was jacked up for this game,” said Reese, who spent five seasons in Cincinnati before signing with the Pirates. “I was almost too high before it started. But I got through it … I don’t have too many four-RBI games.”

Dempster left after allowing six runs and seven hits in six innings. Since being dealt by Florida, Dempster has yielded 13 hits and 12 runs in 9 2-3 innings. It was a contrast to the previous two nights, when Reds starting pitchers didn’t allow a run in 15 innings in two victories in Milwaukee.

“I only saw him a couple of times with Florida, and I thought he was a little raw,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “He left a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate, instead of commanding his fastball and that’s what’s happening here.”

With Anderson (7-10) lasting seven innings for only the second time in his last 11 starts, the Pirates improved to 6-1 since the All-Star break. They went into the break losing 13 of 19. The Reds had won three straight since dropping seven of nine.

Anderson, a winner only once in his previous seven starts, got off to another shaky start by walking Boone and Adam Dunn in succession in the first ahead of Sean Casey’s run-scoring single.

Anderson’s wildness prompted a visit to the mound by manager Lloyd McClendon, who, aggravated with Anderson’s inconsistency in his previous start, yanked the left-hander in the third inning with the Pirates leading 3-2 Friday in Milwaukee. The Pirates went on to win 9-2.

This time, McClendon was only trying to settle Anderson down, and the pitcher responded by limiting the Reds to three hits and a run over his final six innings. Anderson left after throwing 104 pitches, giving up four hits and two runs. Dempster, only 2-for-36 previously this season, had an RBI double in the Reds’ fourth.

“I should have screamed from the dugout, “I’m not taking you out,’ ” McClendon said. “I just told him I wasn’t taking him out, that it was his game regardless of what happened, so he should find a way to get it done.”

Going into the game, Anderson was 1-8 with a 7.79 ERA at PNC Park. Another loss also would have tied him with Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets for the NL lead with 11.

“I just had to get back to basics and throw strikes,” Anderson said. “I know I haven’t been pitching well here – but, last year, I threw a lot better here than I did on the road.”

The Pirates opened a 4-1 lead on Young’s two-run double in the third following Aramis Ramirez’s one-out single and Craig Wilson’s walk.

Dempster got the first two Pirates batters in the sixth, but walked Chad Hermansen ahead of Reese’s drive into the right-field seats on a 1-2 pitch.

Brandon Larson’s RBI single in the ninth off reliever Scott Sauerback cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 6-3, but Mike Williams got the final two outs for his 29th save in 31 opportunities.

NOTES: After having 16 rain delays at PNC Park in their first 47 home games, the Pirates gave away umbrellas – on a warm, hazy but rainless night. … Reds RHP Jose Silva is expected to begin a rehabilitation assignment Friday at Louisville. … The Reds had two more stolen bases, giving them 12 in four games. … Reds RHP Jose Rijo pitched two scoreless innings in his first appearance since June 1.