Reds 10, Pirates 6 (10): Ramon Santiago delivered a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the 10th as host Cincinnati dealt Pittsburgh a blow in its quest to win the National League Central.
Todd Frazier opened the 10th with a four-pitch walk against John Axford (2-4), who bounced back to get Devin Mesoraco to fly out to the warning track in right-center. Bobby LaFromboise came on in relief after Chris Heisey singled and Ryan Ludwick walked to load the bases, but Santiago hammered a 1-0 sinker into the left-field stands two batters later to end the Reds’ franchise-record 45-game losing streak when allowing six or more runs.
Frazier homered and scored four times, Brandon Phillips went 2-for-5 and added a pair of runs and Dylan Axelrod (2-1) worked a perfect 10th for the Reds, who improved to 11-7 in the season series. Jordy Mercer contributed a solo shot while Neil Walker had three RBIs for the Pirates, who are one game behind St. Louis and can force a playoff for the Central title with a victory and a Cardinals' loss Sunday.
Mesoraco capped a run of four straight Cincinnati hitters to reach base to begin the game with a two-run single and Heisey made it 3-0 on an RBI groundout moments later. Starling Marte doubled and scored Pittsburgh’s first run on Mercer’s groundout in the second before Mercer led off the fifth with his 12th homer and the Pirates pulled ahead on Walker’s two-out, two-run double later in the frame.
Ludwick ended an 0-for-15 slump with a two-out run-scoring single in the fifth to tie it 4-4, but Pittsburgh struck for two in the seventh when Andrew McCutchen ripped a two-out hit to left before racing home on Walker’s RBI triple. John Holdzkom was unable to hold the lead, however, as Frazier followed Phillips’ one-out single with his 29th homer in the bottom half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pirates 3B Josh Harrison, who went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games, is batting .- one point being Colorado’s Justin Morneau in his quest for an NL batting title. Morneau did not play Saturday. … Cincinnati’s bullpen had dropped each of its last 18 decisions. … Each starting pitcher went five innings, with Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and five walks, while Cincinnati’s Alfredo Simon yielded four runs on five hits and pair of walks.
Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | |
Francisco Liriano | Player | Alfredo Simon |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
5.0 | IP | 5.0 |
5 | Strikeouts | 4 |
5 | Hits | 5 |
5.40 | ERA | 7.20 |
Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | |
Jordy Mercer | Player | Kristopher Negron |
2 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .500 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Pittsburgh | 8 | 1 | 16 | .211 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Cincinnati | 9 | 2 | 16 | .250 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 |