The Pirates finally broke through against Cincinnati, holding the Reds to single digits in runs and beating them for the first time this year, 7-2. J.T. Brubaker continued his strong run and Troy Stokes, Jr., got his first two major league hits and first two major league RBIs.
Brubaker did what he’s been doing all year, giving up five hits and a walk in six innings. He fanned four. The only problem he had was Jesse Winker, who doubled and homered off him. In fact, Winker and Nick Senzel each had three hits. Eugenio Suarez had two, and that was all for the Reds. Fortunately, prior to Winker’s blast Jacob Stallings threw Senzel out stealing.
The Pirates got the early lead, as Adam Frazier led off the bottom of the first with a single to extend his hitting streak to a dozen games. Bryan Reynolds doubled him to third, but he was nearly stranded there as Phillip Evans fanned and Stallings lined out. Fortunately, Reds’ starter Jeff Hoffman threw a wild pitch that scored Frazier.
Winker tied the game in the third, but the Bucs took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Kevin Newman tripled deep to left, scoring Ka’ai Tom, who’d gotten plunked. Stokes got Newman in with his first career hit. Evans doubled in Reynolds in the fifth to make it 4-1.
After a scoreless seventh from Chris Stratton, David Bednar ran into some trouble in the eighth. Senzel singled and Winker doubled him home. Winker, though, tried to take third on the throw to the plate and Stallings threw him out easily. Bednar then struck out Nick Castellanos and Sam Howard came in just to get Mike Moustakas, as Derek Shelton continued to laugh at the three-batter rule.
The Pirates broke it open in the bottom of the eighth. Stokes doubled in a run and Frazier hit his first home run of the year, off a lefty. Richard Rodriguez finished it out. Brubaker is now 3-2.
