Nathaniel Lowe’s fielder’s choice scored Sal Stewart in the eighth inning to lift the host Cincinnati Reds to an 8-7 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
Stewart went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, four RBIs and two runs and JJ Bleday added a solo shot. Lowe collected two hits and an RBI and Noelvi Marte posted three hits for Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh’s Jake Mangum was 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs and Brandon Lowe was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run. Nick Gonzales added two hits, two RBIs and a run and Bryan Reynolds had two hits and a run.
Emilio Pagan (4-1) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
The Reds took an 8-7 lead in a three-run eighth. Marte and Matt McLain each singled before Elly De La Cruz struck out. Stewart’s single brought home Marte and McLain to tie the game at 7-all.
Mason Montgomery relieved Wilber Dotel (1-4) and induced Lowe to hit a grounder to Gonzales at third, allowing Stewart to score.
Pittsburgh took a 7-5 lead with three runs in the top of the eighth. With one out, Gonzales and Endy Rodriguez notched consecutive singles.
Pinch hitter Jared Triolo struck out swinging, but Pittsburgh strung together three straight RBI singles. Henry Davis’ looping liner scored Gonzales, Mangum’s ground-ball single knocked in Rodriguez and Lowe’s hot shot plated Davis.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the first when Gonzales lined a two-out, two-run single up the middle.
In the bottom of the inning, Tyler Stephenson’s double into the left field corner scored Bleday from first. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a single to tie the game at 2-all.
In the second, Mangum’s line-drive homer gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
Bleday’s 19th homer of the season tied the game at 3-all in the third.
De La Cruz opened the fourth with a triple and scored on Stewart’s 23rd homer of the year as the Reds took a 5-3 lead.
Pittsburgh cut its deficit to 5-4 in the fifth when Brandon Lowe scored on Esmerlyn Valdez’s sacrifice fly.
In four innings, Skenes allowed five runs on seven hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Reds starter Hunter Greene scattered seven hits over six innings, giving up four runs while walking two and striking out four.
