Bryan Reynolds provided the heroics Friday night at PNC Park, launching a two-out, two-run triple in the eighth inning to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Trailing 2-1, Reynolds smoked Tony Santillan’s first pitch of the inning down the right-field line, sending Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tommy Pham across the plate and putting the Pirates up 3-2.
The rally began when Kiner-Falefa coaxed a one-out walk off Santillan, and Pham followed with a two-out single. Reynolds’ triple snapped the 2-2 tie, capping a night in which he also doubled and scored on an Oneil Cruz two-bagger in the fourth to knot the game at 1-1.
On the mound, Mitch Keller turned in 5 2⁄3 innings of work, yielding two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three. Kyle Nicolas inherited the lead, firing a scoreless eighth to notch his first win of the season, and Dennis Santana slammed the door in the ninth for his seventh save. Despite the loss, Reds rookie Chase Burns dazzled through six innings, striking out ten and touching 100 mph on his heater five times, but he settled for a no-decision after allowing one run on three hits.
Saturday’s rubber game at PNC Park will feature a pair of right-handers: Cincinnati is set to send Nick Martinez (9-9, 4.66 ERA) to the hill, while Pittsburgh counters with rookie Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 3.24 ERA) looking to build on his strong relief work as he stretches out in a starting role. This is game three of the four-game series.
(photo courtesy of MLB.com)