*Photo from AP News*
No lead is safe in baseball. Alfonso Rivas drove in 5 runs, Jack Suwinski had the go ahead hit, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Cincinnati Reds with a 13-12 victory on Saturday night in Cincinnati.
Once trailing 9-0, the Pirates scored 13 consecutive runs, the largest comeback in franchise history. It's also the largest comeback in baseball this year and the first time the Reds have squandered a 9 run lead since April of 2004 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds said that "We’re playing really good baseball right now. But we’ve been doing it for a decent bit now, feels like. We’re just going to keep going and keep getting better and set it up well for whatever the future holds."
The Reds took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a two run home run by Christian Encarnacion-Strand and a solo shot from Tyler Stephenson. In the second, TJ Friedl hit a solo home run, Elly De La Cruz scored on a fielder's choice, Encarnacion-Strand hit an RBI single, and Stephenson added a two run double to make it 8-0. Spencer Steer made it 9-0 in the 3rd with an RBI double.
Rivas started the comeback in the 4th with an RBI single to make it 9-1. In the 6th, Ji-Hwan Bae and Joshua Palacios hit RBI singles before a 3 run home run by Reynolds cut the Pirates deficit to 9-6. In the 7th, Rivas laced a 3 run double to tie the game 9-9. Suwinski hit an RBI single in the 8th to put the Pirates ahead 10-9.
Later in the 8th, Rivas hit an RBI single and Bae added a two run double, making the Pirates lead 13-9. In the bottom of the 8th, De La Cruz scored on a fielder's choice and Encarnacion-Strand added an RBI single, cutting the Reds deficit to 13-11. Joey Votto scored on a groundout in the 9th to make it 13-12, a score that went final.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said after the game that "It feels good tonight. I’m just really proud of our group. I would say it’s right at the top. Walk-offs at home are really special, but with this group, this late in the year, to do that, yeah, this ranks right at the top."
Bailey Falter gave up 8 runs on 9 hits in two innings for the Pirates. Kyle Nicolas gave up one in two innings before Dauri Moreta handled 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Jose Hernandez got the win before Colin Selby and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched an inning each to close out the win.
Connor Phillips pitched the first 5 innings for the Reds, allowing 3 runs. Alex Young allowed 3 in the 6th. Fernando Cruz allowed 3 without recording an out. Alexis Diaz allowed 4 while only getting two outs. Lucas Sims, Derek Law, and Ian Gibault had scoreless appearances.
Stephenson said after the game that "At the end of the day, we have to control the things we can control as a team, regardless of wherever we're at with the rankings. I don't know what it's going to take, but at the end of the day, if it's meant to happen, it's going to be in our shoes. It's tough, what happened tonight, but we have to come out tomorrow and take care of business, and that's the only thing that we can do."
Up next, the series concludes on Sunday afternoon. Quinn Priester takes the mound for the Pirates as they go for the sweep. The Reds look to avoid the sweep with Brandon Williamson starting.
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