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For a true fan, it is never easy to say goodbye to the boys of summer, but that is what we did today.  The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up the 2018 season this afternoon and did so with a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in ten innings.  Plenty of names were used in the lineup that hadn’t seen much action at the big-league level, but they stepped up to end the season on a high note.

Cincinnati struck first when Billy Hamilton scored on a throwing error by Elias Diaz in the first inning.  They would tack on two more runs in the second inning on a two-run home run from Tim Federowicz.  Pittsburgh finally struck in the fifth with two runs of their own.  Kevin Kramer plated the first run with a sac fly to left.  Jose Osuna would then cross the plate on a wild pitch.

The Reds regained...

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With an 8-4 victory last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched a winning season.  This afternoon, they couldn’t plate a run, as the Cincinnati Reds won second game of this three game weekend series by a 3-0 score.

Just as Trevor Williams failed to record his 15^th victory of the season earlier this wek, Jameson Taillon also couldn’t finish the job either.  He took the loss today, giving up three runs on seven hits through six innings.  His mound opponent, Michael Lorenzen, gave up five hits and two walks in 5.2 innings to earn a victory.

The Bucs managed just six hits today, with no players tallying multiple hits.  Jung-Ho Kang got the start today at third base, and had one hit.

The Reds scored the game’s first run in bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Jose Peraza, ...

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It has been an up and down season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, with plenty of bright and dark moments.  Tonight, the Bucs won their 81^st game of the season, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-4, to clinch a winning season.

Nick Kingham started for Pittsburgh, lasting only 3.2 innings while giving up two runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.  It was a game for the bullpen tonight, and the relievers did a nice job keeping the lead once they got it, with Steven Brault earning his sixth victory of the year.

Corey Dickerson doubled home the game’s first run in the first inning, and Elias Diaz’s sacrifice fly later in the inning made it 2-0.  A two run homerun by Eugenio Suarez in the third tied the game, but Diaz’s solo homerun in the fourth gave the Pirates the lead right ba...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs played for the 19^th and final time in 2018 tonight and in the end, Chicago would take the game and season series with a 3-0 victory.  Pittsburgh didn’t have many chances tonight and the few they did have they could not capitalize.

Trevor Williams made his final start of the season and came one game short from reaching the 15-win plateau.  Instead he would collect his 10^th loss of the year after throwing five innings and allowing three runs on eight hits, with four strikeouts and three walks.  Two of those runs came in the second on a David Bote triple to left field.  The final run crossed the plate when Daniel Murphy hit an RBI single to right center in the fourth inning.

The Pirates offense couldn’t do any damage to Jon Lester in his six inn...

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Now that the Pittsburgh Pirates have played themselves out of a potential postseason appearance, they are now focusing on a much less impressive but more realistic goal of finishing with a .500 record.  After sweeping the Cincinnati Reds to begin their next to last home stand of the season, the Bucs began this weekend series with a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Chris Archer started for the Pirates tonight, battling his way through six innings.  He was throwing a shutout until one bad pitch in the sixth inning cost him three runs.  In all, he gave up three runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Pittsburgh took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run homerun by Josh Bell.  It was Bell’s ninth homerun of what has been a very difficult season for the Pirates’...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates entered tonight with a chance to do something they haven’t accomplished since mid-July, sweep a series.  That series happened to be against the Cincinnati Reds as well.  Pittsburgh would complete the sweep tonight with a hard fought 3-2 victory.  It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the Jolly Roger was raised in the end.

Cincinnati would actually score the first and final runs of this game, with the Pirates plating three runs in between.  Jose Peraza hit a solo home run in the first to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.  That would be the only run that Jameson Taillon would give up during his five innings on the mound.  He left allowing eight hits to go with six strikeouts.

The Buccos offense would come to life in the second when Colin Moran hit an RBI double to right...

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Regardless of either team’s record, the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled against the Cincinnati Reds in recent years.  But in 2018, the Bucs have played well against their N.L. Central foes…and that trend continued on Tuesday night.  Pittsburgh provided starter Joe Musgrove with plenty of run support, as they earned comfortable 7-3 victory at PNC Park.

Musgrove pitched well for the Pirates, giving up two runs on five hits with eighth strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.  Richard Rodriguez, Kyle Crick, and Felipe Vazquez pitched the final 2.2 innings in relief to close things out.

Francisco Cervelli gave the Pirates the lead in the bottom of the first with a single to score Adam Frazier.  They added three more runs in the bottom of the third on a two run double by Gregory Polanco and...

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The unofficial end of summer is Labor Day and it also means that baseball season is coming to a close.  The Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning to evaluate talent for 2019 by expanding the roster and playing guys who have spent most of the season on the bench or in the minors.  Today they opened up a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park with a 5-1 victory.

Trevor Williams has been on fire as of late and that trend continued today.  He worked 6.2 innings giving up five hits to go with four strikeouts and one walk.  His ERA would drop to 3.15 and the offense did the job to get him a W today.  Richard Rodriguez would collect the final out of the seventh, before giving way to Kyle Crick in the eighth.  Crick gave up one run on two hits with one strikeout.  Keone Kela t...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates looked to wrap up a very difficult road trip with a victory today against the Atlanta Braves.  After winning the first game of the series on Friday, the Bucs fell last night after blowing a lead late in the game.  Today, unfortunately, the bullpen let the team down once again, as the Braves scored four runs in the eighth and went on to win 5-1 in the rubber match.

Nick Kingham started today and he pitched well for Pittsburgh.  He lasted five innings, and after giving up a leadoff homerun to begin the game, he held the Braves off the scoreboard for the rest of his outing.  He ended up giving up one run on four hits with four strikeouts.  Steven Brault took the loss today, giving up four runs (one earned) on four hits in 2.1 innings.

The Pirates scored the game’s ...

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The hottest team in baseball right now may just be the Pittsburgh Pirates.  They continued their hot play today with a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.  This win gave them a sweep of Cincinnati and extended their season long winning streak to nine games.  This is exactly the type of play that Pittsburgh needs if they hope to make a run at a playoff spot this season.

The Pirates offense got things started right out of the gate.  Gregory Polanco would hit a two-run home run in the top of the first.  The second inning would see more offense from the Buccos.  Max Moroff got things started with an RBI single to right field.  That was then followed up by a two-run homer by Corey Dickerson, his fourth straight game with a home run.  Starling Marte capped off the inning with a solo ho...

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