The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a four-game series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 10-4 victory at Great American Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon.
Roansy Contreras lasted four innings, while Tyler Beede earned the victory. Nick Lodolo took the loss for the Reds, despite striking out eleven batters in his 6.1 innings on the mound.
The Reds took the lead in the second inning. A single by Spencer Steer scored Aristides Aquino to give them a 1-0 lead. But it wouldn’t last long. Rodolfo Castro crushed a three-run homerun, scoring Tyler Heineman and Bryan Reynolds, in the top of the third inning to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the Bucs.
Cincinnati cut into the Bucs’ lead in the bottom of the fifth when Austin Romine hit a solo homerun, his third of the season, to left center field to make it a 3-2 game.
Pittsburgh responded with a RBI single by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the top of the seventh, scoring Greg Allen to put it back to a two-run lead, 4-2. Oneil Cruz added a two-run homerun in the top of the eighth, his 15th long ball of the season, to increase the lead to 6-2. After the Reds scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, the Bucs tacked on four more in the ninth to cap off a 10-4 blowout victory.
This was a great series in Cincinnati for the Bucs. Any time you can achieve a series sweep, especially a four-gamer, it is huge. Regardless of who it is against, in this case the struggling Reds, it is difficult to sweep a series in MLB. This has been a feel-good week for the Pirates…something we all have all needed for quite awhile.
Fresh off this series victory in Cincinnati, the Pirates have a huge task in front of them against one of the best teams in the league. They kick off a four-game series against the New York Mets, beginning Thursday evening.
Record vs. Reds: 9-7
Record vs. N.L. Central: 28-35
Record on the Road: 27-45
Overall Record: 55-88
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
