The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the teams that didn't want to stop playing when the All-Star break arrived. Their only problem when the break ended was they couldn't get started when they wanted.
But once they endured a nearly three-hour rain delay Friday night in Cincinnati, they picked up where they left off before the break by pounding the Reds 12-1 -- their seventh win in a row and ninth in 10 games. They also reached the .500 mark at 49-49 after being eight games under only two weeks ago.
Sean Rodriguez, who came in batting .