Bryan Reynolds hits late HR after Mitch Keller, Hunter Greene duel to lift the Pirates past Reds 1-0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on Wednesday.
Reynolds pounced on an 80 mph changeup from Nick Martinez (2-5) and sent it just over the wall in center field for his 10th homer of the season as the Pirates took two of three from Cincinnati.
Colin Holderman (3-0) retired the three batters he faced in the eighth after coming on for a brilliant Mitch Keller. David Bednar worked a perfect ninth for his 16th save.
The teams combined for just five hits on a steamy day at PNC Park in which Keller and Hunter Greene dominated.
Keller allowed two hits — singles to Jonathan India and Santiago Espinal — over seven-plus innings while striking out seven. The 28-year-old has pitched at least five innings in 46 straight starts, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest such streak by a Pirate since A.J. Burnett went five in 49 consecutive starts between 2012 and 2013.
The Reds failed to get a runner to third against Keller, who was pulled after walking Stuart Fairchild leading off the eighth. Holderman entered and retired the next three batters to set the stage for Reynolds.
Hunter Greene matched Keller pitch for pitch into the seventh. The hard-throwing 24-year-old right-hander struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings. Greene didn’t allow a walk, though he did hit two batters to boost his season total to 11, the most in the majors.
Greene’s only mistakes were giving up a double to right by Yasmani Grandal in the second and a double off the wall in center field by Rowdy Tellez with one out in the seventh.
Tellez, who has broken out this month after struggling during the early part of the season, began trotting when the ball left his bat thinking it was gone. He began chugging when it smacked off the wall and scrambled into second just before the throw came in from the outfield.
The hit ended Greene’s day, but Tellez and Connor Joe were stranded to end the inning.
Greene has at least five strikeouts in his 15 starts, the longest stretch by a Reds starter to begin the season since 1901 and the longest by a Cincinnati pitcher at any point since Mario Soto in 1982.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Held CF TJ Friedl out of the lineup for a second straight day. Friedl tweaked his hamstring while making a spectacular catch to rob Nick Gonzales of a hit on Monday night.
Pirates: Activated INF Alika Williams (wrist) from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
UP NEXT
Reds: Head home for a three-game interleague series against Boston starting Friday.
Pirates: Are off on Thursday before welcoming Tampa Bay for a three-game weekend set on Friday.
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