Using a lineup that carried four regular players, amid starters missing for myriad reasons, the Pirates poured on the offense to overcome the Reds. In a 12-3 victory over Cincinnati on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, Pittsburgh broke out with six-run top of the fourth inning and didn’t stop there. Ten of its runs came with two outs.
“Obviously we’re not where we want to be yet, but I think we’re making strides and getting better as a whole group,” Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “Some guys are here and there, but I think it’s going to take all of us to get where we want to be. We’re going in the right direction. We’re making the right steps.”
Reds starter Scott Feldman took a 3-0 lead into the third inning until Mercer’s RBI double in the third inning provided the Pirates’ first run. It all fell apart for Feldman in the fourth with the go-ahead runs being provided by pitcher Tyler Glasnow. It was his bases-loaded single through the the middle that made it a 4-3 game. Next was Cincinnati-native Josh Harrison, who crushed a three-run homer to left field — his third in two games.
“Everything just kind of snowballed,” Feldman said. “I’ve got to do a better job there. Obviously, the guys came out and put up a three-spot in the first inning and things were looking good for us. Then that fourth inning just got away from me.”
For his first big league victory, Glasnow overcame a tough first inning that included Joey Votto’s three-run homer and eight men batting. He struck out the side in the second inning on 11 pitches and went on to pitch six innings with three earned runs, four hits, four walks and five strikeouts. Glasnow entered the night with a 7.98 ERA in his first four starts of 2017. He credited pitching coach Ray Searage for his improvement on Tuesday.
“Ray looked back at when I was good in my old video, and we have identified some stuff,” Glasnow said. “Stuff he’s told me, I went out in the second inning and did that and just went straight back to how I felt when I was good. It was weird. And yeah, it felt good.”
Feldman was on the hook for seven earned runs and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He is winless in each of his last three starts and hasn’t worked more than five innings in four of his six starts. The Reds signed him, in part, to be a veteran innings eater.
“I think every time as a starting pitcher you take the ball, six innings is pretty much the least amount you want to throw,” Feldman said. “These four-inning, five-inning starts that I’ve had a couple of now, they’re not ideal.”
In the seventh inning after Reds reliever Robert Stephenson notched two outs and then loaded the bases, rookie Gift Ngoepe lined a two-run single off of shortstop Zack Cozart’s glove to spark a five-run inning. After managing only three hits Monday night, Pittsburgh batted around in both the fourth and seventh innings to beat the Reds for the first time in five tries this season.
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