PITTSBURGH –– With the Cincinnati Reds best baserunner at second base and the National League’s leader in batting average at the plate, the 10th inning set up perfectly for the Reds on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Reds second baseman Nick Senzel started the inning as the automatic runner at second base, and Reds left fielder Jesse Winker drove Senzel in with his first swing of the inning on a ground ball to left field. Winker’s RBI in the 10th led the Reds to a 5-1 win over the Pirates and a series victory.
Before extra innings, the Reds were one hit away from taking the lead in two different innings. During extra innings, the Reds had one of their best innings of the series.
Third baseman Eugenio Suárez hit his first double since April 16, driving in three runs and giving the Reds a four-run lead.
Before the offense broke out in the 10th, the Reds needed a strong performance from every pitcher who entered the game. Pirates starting pitcher Trevor Cahill allowed three hits and one run in 5 ⅓ innings. The only run against him came from Reds first baseman Mike Moustakas’ solo home run.
Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray kept the Reds in the game.
Gray allowed seven hits for the first time in his last 48 starts, and Gray was the first Reds pitcher since 1900 to throw four wild pitches in a game. But every time he allowed multiple runners on base, Gray got out of trouble.
When Gray allowed a baserunner in the first inning, Gray prevented the middle of the Pirates order from knocking him in with a strike three two-seam fastball that cut back to hit the edge of the strike zone. When the Pirates got two base runners on in the second and the fourth, Gray left the runners stranded.
He allowed an RBI single to right fielder Gregory Polanco in the fifth inning, but the Reds escaped their biggest jam of the game. With one out and runners on second and third, Gray got a ground ball from Pirates third baseman Erik González and shortstop Kyle Farmer threw a runner out at home.
Then Tejay Antone came in from the bullpen and struck out second baseman Wilmer Difo for the last out of the inning. Gray allowed one run and had five strikeouts in 4 ⅔ innings.
Before Wednesday, Antone had only pitched 3.1 innings in May. Manager David Bell said he was looking to get Antone another opportunity, and the most productive reliever in the Reds bullpen delivered again with 1 ⅓ scoreless innings.
Sean Doolittle and Lucas Sims combined for three hitless innings with six strikeouts to send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th, Reds relief pitcher Heath Hembree closed the game and didn’t allow a hit.
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