Worth noting

• Shortstop Zack Cozart was wearing a pad over his wrist for Friday's series opener against the Pirates after being hit by a Kyle Hendricks pitch in Thursday's loss to the Cubs. He said it's an EvoShield padding that molds around the injured area and can be kept in place by Velcro.

"I went and swung a bat yesterday, and I felt plenty good enough," Cozart said. "I'm trying to mold [the pad] to my hand, because if I got hit there again it could be trouble. It's a protective thing."

• After using six relievers on Thursday on top of an already taxing week for the bullpen, the Reds went with only three position players on the bench Friday. Price said that could change by Saturday.

"Really, our situation was we've got a bunch of guys that have pitched three days in a row," Price said. "By tomorrow, for the [relievers] that don't get in there today, a day of rest should hopefully allow us to feel pretty good for the remaining two games of the series and potentially get us another position player [from the Minors]."