Luke Maile hit a three-run home run and Elly De La Cruz also drove in three Friday as the visiting Cincinnati Reds toppled the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2.
Spencer Steer added an RBI double and an RBI single, and TJ Friedl had an RBI single for the Reds, who had lost two in a row and eight of nine.
Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (7-3) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts and no walks.
Ke’Bryan Hayes homered and Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI single for the Pirates, who have lost three of four.
Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo (6-12), who came in with a three-game winning streak with a 0.90 ERA in that stretch, gave up six runs and five hits in five innings, with four strikeouts and two walks.
In the first, Friedl walked and went to second on Matt McLain’s single to center. De La Cruz tripled to the corner in right, driving in Friedl and McLain for a 2-0 Reds lead. Steer followed with a double down the line in left to bring De La Cruz home and push it to 3-0.
After Abbott struck out the side in the third, Cincinnati doubled its lead in the fourth.
With one out, Stuart Fairchild got hit by a pitch and moved to second on Will Benson’s base hit to left. Maile hit his fifth homer to left-center field to make it 6-0.
In the sixth with two outs, Hayes launched his eighth homer, a shot to center, to cut it to 6-1. Bryan Reynolds doubled to left and scored on McCutchen’s single to left to make it 6-2.
Reds designated hitter Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who got hit on the right hand by a pitch in the fourth, was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
Cincinnati added three runs in the eighth. Fairchild singled to right and went to second on Benson’s single to center, and both advanced on Maile’s sacrifice bunt.
Friedl singled in Benson and, an out later, successive singles by De La Cruz and Steer increased it to 9-2.
–Field Level Media
