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For the Pirates, Friday night’s game at Great American Ballpark was a nightmare.
Starter Paul Skenes struggled, the bullpen blew its 20th save, a costly miscue in the eighth gave the Reds the lead, and Ryan O’Hearn had to be carried off the field in the ninth inning of an 8-7 loss to the Reds. Their losing streak is now at four games.
Scoring Plays
Top 1st, 2-0 PIT: The Pirates (55-56) took advantage of a couple defensive miscues and scored a pair of runs on a Nick Gonzales two-out single up the middle off Hunter Greene with the bases loaded.
Bottom 1st, 2-2: Paul Skenes labored through a 36-pitch inning and the Reds (52-57) quickly struck back to tie the game. Tyler Stephenson ripped an RBI double down the left field line and Nathaniel Lowe plated a run with a base hit to right.
Top 2nd, 3-2 PIT: Jake Mangum lined a solo home run that just cleared the right field wall and stayed inside the foul pole. Mangum’s 336-foot homer was his third of the season.
Bottom 3rd, 3-3: JJ Bleday tied the game with a solo home run to right field.
Bottom 4th, 5-3 CIN: The Reds took their first lead of the game when Sal Stewart hit a two-run home run to center field following an Elly De La Cruz triple.
Top 5th, 5-4 CIN: Esmerlyn Valdez brought the Pirates back within one with a sacrifice fly to right. Brandon Lowe, who doubled to open the inning, scored after advancing to third base.
Top 8th, 7-5 PIT: The Pirates rallied for three runs, all with two outs, to take the lead. Gonzales and Endy Rodríguez had one-out singles off Caleb Ferguson. The Reds brought in Pierce Johnson, who struck out pinch-hitter Jared Triolo before Henry Davis, Mangum and Lowe each delivered an RBI single.
Bottom 8th, 8-7 CIN: Stewart singled home a pair off Wilber Dotel (1-4) to tie the game. Mason Montgomery entered and looked to have the final out, but the Reds took the lead when Gonzales fielded a ball at third with two outs and runners on the corners. But Gonzales threw to second base, where Lowe was charged with an error after the ball ticked off his glove. Stewart scored from third.
Key Moments
Nick Gonzales fielded a hard grounder off the bat of Nathaniel Lowe. Instead of throwing to first base, Gonzales fired to second. Brandon Lowe was just arriving to the bag when Gonzales’ throw ticked off his glove and trickled into the outfield. Lowe should’ve made the catch, but Gonzales should’ve thrown the ball to first.
Ryan O’Hearn tried beating out a groundball in the top of the ninth but came up hobbling and had to be helped off the field by a trainer and manager Don Kelly. O’Hearn grabbed at his right quad.
Player of the Game
Sal Stewart homered and drove in four runs in the win for the Reds. He had two clutch swings — one that gave them the lead and one that tied the game late.
Stat to Know
Nick Gonzales extended his career-long hit streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in MLB, with two more hits. Gonzales finished July with 40 hits, the most by a Pirate in a calendar month since Adam Frazier had 40 in May 2021.
Notable Performances
- Paul Skenes: 4.0 innings, seven hits, five runs, four walks, seven strikeouts, 100 pitches/65 strikes
- Antwone Kelly: 3.0 innings, two hits, no runs, two walks, three strikeouts, 40 pitches/27 strikes
- Jake Mangum: 2 for 5, one home run, one walk, two RBI, one run
- Brandon Lowe: 3 for 5, one double, one RBI, one run
- Nick Gonzales: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
- Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 5, one run
Noteworthy
- Ryan O’Hearn’s apparent quad injury is the same one that landed him on the injured list earlier this season.
- Paul Skenes ended July with a 6.25 ERA in six starts.
- Esmerlyn Valdez’s 25 RBI in July are the third-most by a Pirate rookie in a calendar month since 1947.
- The Pirates recalled RHP Antwone Kelly from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned LHP Hunter Barco.
Up Next
The Pirates will have RHP Braxton Ashcraft (10-4, 4.05 ERA) on the mound on Saturday night. LHP Andrew Abbott (5-6, 3.85 ERA) will get the ball for the Reds. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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The post Disaster in Cincinnati: Pirates Blow Another Lead, O’Hearn Exits With Obvious Injury appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
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