PITTSBURGH -- After dropping the first two games of their weekend series against the Reds, all the Pirates could hope for was to salvage the series on Sunday.
Pittsburgh (42-42) did just that, defeating Cincinnati, 9-4, to move back to .500 on the season, despite leaving 11 runners on base. The Bucs now face a stretch of 22 games against teams with a record of .500 or better.
The Pirates took the lead in the bottom of the second inning off Reds starter Brady Singer, who entered the outing with only four earned runs in four June starts. Esmerlyn Valdez’s ground-rule double drove in a run, then Tyler Callihan blasted a three-run homer over the right-field stands, giving Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Mitch Keller faced the minimum through the first three innings, striking out two. However, the Reds got to Keller in the fourth when JJ Bleday knocked a two-run single to center field. In the fifth inning, Keller continued to falter, allowing a walk and a double, eventually cutting the Pirates’ lead to one.
Then, with Tyler Stephenson on second base, nine-hole hitter Edwin Arroyo plucked a single down the right-field line to tie the game at 4-4, as Keller’s pitch count went over 70.
Ryan O'Hearn punched back in the bottom of the fifth with a no-doubt shot to right field, his 12th homer of the season, reclaiming the lead for Pittsburgh. Keller exited after six innings to make way for Carmen Mlodzinski. The reliever’s margin for error was airtight as the Pirates left the bases loaded in the fourth and sixth innings.
Pittsburgh again loaded the bases in the seventh and left all three runners on base. The Reds put the tying run on second base in the eighth, but Mlodzinski worked out of the jam. Following a 65-minute rain delay, O’Hearn hit a three-run shot for his second home run of the game, and Valdez homered for the third straight day.