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After an successful perfect Opening Week at home, the Bucs are on the road in the Midwest, starting in Cincinnati, OH, at Great American Ball Park to face their division rivals, the Reds.

It’s less than 300 miles between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and both the Cincinnati Reds & Pittsburgh Pirates have been around for a very long time. Is there a natural rivalry between the two cities due to proximity? The Reds were founded in 1881 in the American Association and moved into the National League in 1890. The Pirates were also founded in 1881 in the American Association and joined the NL in 1887.

Both teams were constructed similarly. Feared hitters up and down the lineup. Smart players both in the field and on the bases. Both featured pitching staffs that were good but not great. It all made for a dynamic, new, and interesting intra-divisional rivalry.

For the decade, the Reds and Pirates played 133 regular season games against each other with the Reds winning 74 and the Pirates 59. In those games, both teams scored and allowed 4.3 runs per game. In the postseason the Reds also had the upper hand winning 9 of 14 games and 3 out of 4 playoff series played between the two teams. Their overall records for the decade were terrific with the Reds winning 953 games averaging 95 per year and the Pirates 916 games averaging 91 wins per year.