Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score on Sep 02, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 2, 2017

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh scored the go-ahead run on a fluky play in the seventh and rookie Jordan Luplow hit a three-run homer in the eighth as the Pirates ended a four-game losing streak Saturday night with a 5-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.

Four Pirates pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout.

Pinch hitter John Jaso walked with one out in the seventh. An out later, Starling Marte hit a bloop single to shallow center. Second baseman Scooter Gennett backtracked to make a leaping stab at it, missed, fell, and center fielder Billy Hamilton leapfrogged him, leaving them both sprawled on the grass.

Jaso stopped at third, then took off for home, which was uncovered. A throw by right fielder Phillip Ervin bounced off the mound and left scrambling reliever Michael Lorenzen (8-3) and catcher Stuart Turner in a heap in foul territory between third and home. Ervin got an error.

Luplow, who earlier in the game got his first major league hit, lofted a one-out homer to left to make it 4-0 in the eighth. Marte drove in another with a fielder's choice later that inning.

Pittsburgh (64-72), which had lost 14 of its previous 19, moved six games ahead of the last-place Reds (58-78) in the National League Central. Cincinnati had won two in a row.

The late runs came after strong performances by both starters.

The Pirates' Jameson Taillon pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with four strikeouts and one intentional walk. Reliever A.J. Schugel (4-0) pitched the seventh and got the win.

Cincinnati's Tyler Mahle, making his second major league start, pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out three, with no walks. It was a strong follow-up to his debut, also against Pittsburgh, when he took the loss after pitching five innings then, giving up three runs and four hits, with five strikeouts and four walks.

The biggest threat early came in the first when Hamilton led off the game with a double to right and moved to third on a wild pitch. Taillon got the next three batters out, two on strikeouts, to get out of the inning.

After Hamilton in the first, no one got as far as third until the fifth. Taillon hit a two-out single to right-center and advanced when Josh Harrison got hit on the left wrist with a 96 mph Mahle pitch -- Harrison's major-league-leading 23rd time being hit by a pitch.

Starling Marte followed with an infield single to load the bases before McCutchen flew out to end the inning.

Harrison left the game after that inning.

It was the Reds' turn to threaten in the sixth. They had runners at second and third with two outs after Hamilton singled and stole second and third, and Joey Votto was intentionally walked and stole second, but Taillon struck out Adam Duvall.

NOTES: Cincinnati LHP pitcher Wandy Peralta left in the eighth after he came up limping following a pitch. ... Pittsburgh C Francisco Cervelli, who is on the DL because of left quadriceps inflammation, took batting practice. ... Reds manager Bryan Price will return in 2018, according to The (Cincinnati) Enquirer. Price was on a one-year contract for 2017 with a one-year club option for next season.