Pittsburgh 6, Cincinnati 2
When: 1:10 PM ET, Sunday, August 5, 2012
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
86°
Umpires:
Home -
Todd Tichenor, 1B -
Tony Randazzo, 2B -
Bob Davidson, 3B -
Brian Gorman
Attendance:
38624
By SportsDirect Inc.
Pirates 6, Reds 2: A.J. Burnett scattered three hits over 8 2/3 innings to grab a share of the major-league lead in victories and Neil Walker belted a two-run homer as visiting Pittsburgh salvaged the finale of the three-game series.
Rookie Starling Marte added a two-run triple and All-Star Andrew McCutchen hit a solo shot for the Pirates, who completed a 6-4 road trip and climbed within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Reds in the National League Central.
Burnett (14-3) did not allow a hit after serving up a solo homer to Drew Stubbs with two outs in the third, retiring 18 straight batters and 24 of 25 before issuing a two-out walk in the ninth. The right-hander, who walked three and struck out seven en route to his fourth straight win and 13th in 14 decisions, has yielded only eight hits over 25 innings in his last three outings.
Burnett was one out away from his 23rd career complete game and second this season before walking both Jay Bruce and Ryan Ludwick. All-Star Joel Hanrahan came on to record the final out and notch his 32nd save in 35 opportunities.
Walker, who finished with three hits, erased a 1-0 deficit in the second by following Garrett Jones' leadoff single with his 12th blast of the season. Stubbs forged a tie with his opposite-field shot, but Marte put the Pirates ahead for good in the fourth with his first career triple.
Homer Bailey (9-7) surrendered four runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings as he lost for the first time since June 27.
Stubbs scored both runs for the Reds, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Cincinnati, which finished 5-2 on its seven-game homestand, had won nine of 10 at home and 15 of 16 overall.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips was kept out of the starting lineup again as he recovers from a strained left calf. ... Pittsburgh RHP Kevin Correia will make a spot start Wednesday against Arizona. Correia was removed from the Pirates' rotation when the club acquired LHP Wandy Rodriguez from Houston last week. ... Cincinnati 1B Joey Votto, who has been sidelined since July 16 with a torn left meniscus, will accompany the team on its upcoming seven-game road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago. The Reds are 16-4 without Votto.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Pittsburgh
|
15 |
2 |
23 |
.366 |
22 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Cincinnati
|
3 |
1 |
7 |
.103 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |