National League Game Summary - Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
(Sunday, September 30th)
Final Score: Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 3
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Zack Cozart smacked a go-ahead RBI double
with two out as part of a two-run ninth inning as the Cincinnati Reds rallied
past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game set.
Trailing 3-2 entering the ninth, pinch-hitter Xavier Paul greeted Pittsburgh
closer Joel Hanrahan (5-2) with a leadoff homer over the 21-foot wall in
right field.
Two batters later, pinch-hitter Ryan Ludwick ripped a double to left, which
preceded Cozart's two-bagger to left field that plated pinch-runner Denis
Phipps.
Sean Marshall (5-5) spun a 1-2-3 eighth to pick up the win and Aroldis Chapman
struck out two during a scoreless ninth and tallied his 37th save of the
season.
The Reds are tied with the Washington Nationals for the top seed in the
National League. The Nationals lost to the St. Louis Cardinals later on
Sunday.
The win also gave Cincinnati at least the NL's No. 2 seed and home-field
advantage during the NLDS.
Gunning for the club's first 20-game winner since Danny Jackson in 1988,
Johnny Cueto surrendered three runs -- one earned -- on six hits in seven
innings.
"I really, really want to give Johnny every opportunity to get 20 wins, but it
was just one of those things that didn't work out," Reds interim manager Chris
Speier said.
Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh, which notched its 20th
straight losing season.
Pittsburgh was 63-47 on Aug. 6, but has gone just 14-35 since.
"One of my goals when I got here was to re-bond this city with this baseball
team and to be a group of men who do that collectively. So it's definitely
disappointing, especially when we were able to get to a certain point of the
year where we were talking playoffs," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
The Reds struck first with two runs in the third.
Following back-to-back singles by Brandon Phillips and Wilson Valdez, Joey
Votto brought Phillips home with a ground-rule double to left field and Valdez
scored on a Todd Frazier groundout.
Jones' blast in the home half tied the game at 2-2, and the Pirates went ahead
with a run in the fifth on Andrew McCutchen's RBI single to left-center field.
Game Notes
Hanrahan's blown save was his fourth of the season ... Cincinnati was 2-for-9
with runners in scoring position, while the Pirates finished 2-for-8 with RISP
... Jones' homer was his 26th of the year.
09/30 20:38:52 ET

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