The Pirates scored early and held onto a lead that drunk to one run in the middle of the game, but a 4-run final inning sealed the game. Pittsburgh would win 8-3 on Wednesday afternoon and that victory also gave them the series and put both themselves and the Cincinnati Reds at 3-3 on the season.
Pittsburgh picked up right where they left off on Tuesday night as they got a 2-out rally going in the top of the 1st inning that began with a Bryan Reynolds single. Marcell Ozuna drew a walk to keep things going and then Oneil Cruz hit his 3rd home run in the last two days to make it 3-0 for the Pirates.
Andrew Abbott locked in after that. But Paul Skenes was also back to his normal self after having some struggles in his first outing of the year. He had not given up a run to the Reds since the 1st inning of the first game that he threw against them in his career.
Skenes had Cincinnati hitless into the 4th inning before Elly De La Cruz singled into right field. Two batters later he came around to score from first base when Nathaniel Lowe lined a double to the wall in right-center to end the Skenes’ scoreless streak against the Reds at 31.0 innings.
Two innings later saw Andrew Abbott retire the first two hitters. But the 6th inning wasn’t going to go quietly. Oneil Cruz hit a chopper the other way and with the defense shifted around the infield it got into left field for a 2-out single. Abbott then walked the next batter to put two men on and saw his day end there as Connor Phillips was called in from the bullpen. He proceeded to walk the first two batters he faced, bringing in a run, before getting a grounder to end the inning.
Pittsburgh went to the bullpen for the start of the bottom of the 6th holding a 4-1 lead. Pulling the best pitcher in baseball after just 77 pitches didn’t work out so well for the Pirates. Sal Stewart drew a 1-out walk and then trotted around the bases when pinch-hitter Eugenio Suarez hit a 410-foot home run three pitches later to cut the lead down to one run.
The game stayed there until the 9th inning. Emilio Pagan ran into problems from the start as he gave up a single to start the inning and then hit the next batter. With one out he uncorked a wild pitch to move both runners up and then saw Nick Gonzales single into left field to bring them both in. Bryan Reynolds then crushed a 413-foot home run into the upper levels of the seats in right field as the Pirates extended their lead to 8-3. Cincinnati went down quietly in the bottom of the frame as they dropped to .500 with the loss.
Key Moment of the Game
The top of the 9th inning. Turning a 1-run game into a 5-run game really changes the likelihood of a comeback in the bottom of the frame.
Notes Worth Noting
The pinch hit home run by Eugenio Suarez was the first one hit by a Red since May 31st of 2024 when Santiago Espinal came off the bench and hit a go-ahead 2-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the 7th inning.
Emilio Pagan had another shaky outing. He’s given up a home run in two of his three outings so far this season. In the other outing he made it through an inning unscathed but walked a batter and gave up a hit.
Sal Stewart didn’t record a hit on the day, but he did draw his 7th walk of the season. He’s walked in five straight games.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Texas Rangers
Friday April 3rd, 4:05pm ET
Brady Singer (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs MacKenzie Gore (1-0, 3.38 ERA)