Cincinnati ruined the Pirates Sunday with a 14-8 win at PNC Park, splitting the four-game set behind a relentless middle-order surge. Miguel Andujar launched his first homer as a Red as part of a four-run third, kickstarting a day that saw Spencer Steer and Noelvi Marte each rack up three hits and four RBIs. The Reds kept answering Pittsburgh’s pushes, stacking crooked numbers in the sixth, eighth, and a five-run ninth to finally break it open. There were a total of 30 hits in the afternoon, with the Reds actually being out hit by Pittsburgh 16-14.
Pittsburgh kept punching back. Tied 4-4 in the sixth, the game flipped when Elly De La Cruz and Andujar singled, Marte ripped a tiebreaking double, and Steer followed with a two-run gapper. Steer added a two-run homer in the eighth for breathing room, and Marte’s booming three-run shot to center in the ninth shut the door. Isiah Kiner-Falefa led the Pirates’ 16-hit effort with three knocks and two RBIs, but Cincinnati’s answer runs kept arriving in waves.
The Pirates made it tense in the eighth, scoring three times—two on second baseman Matt McLain’s throwing error—to pull within 9-8 before Graham Ashcraft struck out Jared Triolo with the tying run at second. Mike Burrows (5 IP, 4 R, 6 K) and Zack Littell (4.1 IP, 4 R) traded early blows before the bullpens took center stage; by the end, Cincinnati’s late-game thunder proved decisive. The result pushed the Reds to 62-57 and dropped the Pirates to 51-68 heading into Milwaukee.
Monday’s Pirates-Brewers pitching matchup
Pirates: LHP Andrew Heaney (5-9, 4.77 ERA)
Brewers: RHP Freddy Peralta (13-5, 3.03 ERA)
First pitch: 7:40 PM ET at American Family Field
(photo courtesy of New Castle News)