Pirates win series finale against Reds 6-1 | News, Sports, Jobs

Ke’Bryan Hayes (13) of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds third base and scores on a single hit by Jack Suwinski of the Pirates during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

CINCINNATI – Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run home run, Luis L. Ortiz threw six one-run innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 on Wednesday, winning a series between the NL Central rivals for the second consecutive year.

Rowdy Tellez also hit a home run and Jason Delay scored two runs with a two-out double in the sixth inning. The Pirates (39-41) scored two of three runs against the Reds, just as they did last week in Pittsburgh.

Ortiz (4-2) allowed four hits in six innings, had seven strikeouts and no walks. Kyle Nicolas pitched two hitless innings and Aroldis Chapman finished the game with a perfect ninth, limiting the Reds (37-43) to four hits or fewer for the 18th time.

“The worst part was there were no walks,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Ortiz’s performance. “He allowed the run, came back and had a shutdown inning. Overall, it was extremely impressive.”

Cincinnati has lost four of five and eight of eleven games, including the last four series.

“We’re going to keep fighting through it and keep trying to make adjustments like we always do,” Reds manager David Bell said. “But nothing’s going to change in terms of our player performance, in terms of the way we try to get better every day. You know, we feel like we’re still in the right place. We’ve got a long way to go and a lot of opportunities.”

A bright spot for Cincinnati was Jonathan India, who had his fifth consecutive multi-hit game with a single in the first and an RBI double in the third.

Graham Ashcraft (4-4), recalled from Triple-A Louisville after three weeks, allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

“I felt like I was doing what I needed to do,” Ashcraft said. “I just had a bad couple of innings.”

Brian Reynolds extended his hitting streak to 23 games, the best in the Major League, with a single in the first inning.

Pittsburgh led 2-1 in the fifth inning when Delay led off with a double and McCutchen, the 37-year-old designated hitter, followed with his 11th home run, a 422-footer to center.

“It’s been a long season with ups and downs,” said Tellez. “It’s nice that it’s starting now. We’re playing good ball. It’s always nice when you can win two out of three games in the division.”

TRAINING ROOM

Reds INF Jeimer Candelario was out due to tendinitis in his knee, an ailment that also led to his early departure on Tuesday.

WORTHLESS

Reds INF Noelvi Marte will be allowed to return to the Major Leagues on Thursday after being suspended for 80 games for testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance boldenone.

NEXT

Pirates: After a bad day, Pittsburgh opens a three-game series in Atlanta. The starting pitchers have not yet been announced.

Reds: Travel for four games against St. Louis. Left-hander Andrew Abbott (6-6, 3.40 ERA) of Cincinnati will face right-hander Miles Mikolas (6-6, 4.68) of the Cardinals on Thursday night.