Cincinnati Reds referee Anthony DeSclafani had not allowed a deserved run this season before playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
That lasted only one pitch.
Adam Frazier hit DeSclafani’s second pitch for a leadoff home team, Colin Moran added another solo shot and Gregory Polanco led a seven-run second inning with a homer as the Pirates defeated the Reds, 9-6, Thursday at Great American Ballpark.
It marked the first time in franchise history that three of the first six Pirates fighters homered in a game, the kind of start they needed after a three-day break, when their series in St . Louis was suspended due to a covid-19 outbreak for Cardinal players and staff. The Pirates got their fourth win in 17 games.
“It was enormous,” Frazier said. “A lot of guys, including myself, are looking a bit, trying to find. It feels great, a mental reset. The first 16 games did not go as we wanted as expected, so these few days we take advantage of and hope to build them up. ”
It was the kind of run support that had left Trevor Williams desperate in his first three outings, as the Pirates scored just one run of his 15 1/3 innings this season. After an eight-day dismissal, Williams (1-3) allowed three runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts and one walk in five innings to earn his first win.
“Trevor gave us what we needed,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. ‘The fact that he had not thrown in there so long, and I thought at the end that he began to banish, that is the reason why he did not go out for the sixth. But I thought he was really good. ”
Frazier got it started with his third homer of the season. He tied Andrew McCutchen with eight career leadoff homers, and third in the history of the team behind Barry Bonds (20) and Al Martin (10). Moran smashed a slider 430 feet to center for his sixth homer and a 2-0 lead.
Polanco went deep to the left to start the second, which the Pirates saw around the order. Erik Gonzalez made it nearly four homers in seven at-bats when he followed up with a double from the top of the left field wall and then scored on Jacob Stallings’ single.
Frazier, Kevin Newman, Josh Bell and Moran hit consecutive singles from DeSclafani, with Bell in two runs and Moran another for a 7-0 lead. Bryan Reynolds took a walk to load the bases for Polanco, who took a walk to score Bell. A grounding by Gonzalez, who went 2 for 4 to improve his batting average to .350, scored Moran to make it 9-0.
DeSclafani (1-1) lasted just two innings, the shortest end of his career, resulting in a career-high nine runs on nine hits, with two walks and a strikeout.
“The way we got out was fantastic,” Williams said. ‘The crime has actually set the tone. We did not leave it at all. Pitching with a 9-0 lead is almost a double-edged sword. You’re in ‘not’ running them ‘mode, but these are big league winners and they can hit the ball 500 feet if they want to.’
The Reds stepped on the scoreboard in the second after Williams was led by Eugenio Suarez, who took second on Jesse Winkers single and scored on Nick Senzel’s single to the left. With Winker on third, the Pirates prevented an onslaught when Moran turned a double play from first base to second to force Senzel to finish the inning.
Senzel went 3 for 4 with four RBIs as the Reds midfielder added a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the Pirates’ lead to 9-3. Freddy Galvis homered after relief player Sam Howard to start the seventh as the Reds closed the hole until 9-4.
The Reds tagged Geoff Hartlieb for another run in the eighth, making it 9-5 when Senzel doubled to score Joey Votto. But with forwards on second and third, Richard Rodriguez replaced Hartlieb and knocked out Josh VanMeter and got Galvis to the ground after second to finish the inning.
Closer Keone Kela, who is already missing from training camp and the first 16 games after testing positive for covid-19, made his season debut in the ninth inning. Kela handed a solo homer over to Tucker Barnhart as the Reds cut the Pirates’ lead to 9-6. Kela allowed a single from Phillip Ervin, who advanced to second place on the choice of a field star, but got Nick Castellanos to ground out, Joey Votto to fly to the left field corner and got Eugenio Suarez to swing on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt for a strikeout to claim victory.
‘I enjoy those situations with high leverage, but since I couldn & # 39; t play in a game-like situation since a spring training session, I was ready and willing to go out and get that ball and toe rubber and have fun have to play ball, ”said Kela. ‘It has been a long year for not only for myself but for everyone. I’m just glad I had to go back. We’ve brought a profit home, so I think it’s a good building block for us to move forward. ”
Kevin Gorman is a staff writer for Tribune Review. You can contact Kevin via email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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