Cincinnati Reds beat Pirates to avoid 100-loss season
The Cincinnati Reds have hit that magic win number of 63.
When the Brewers left the Cincinnati Reds behind in Cincinnati, fourth place looked to be in doubt in the National League Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates were coming to town and the Reds had taken 3 of 4 the previous weekend. The Pirates had other plans in mind, however.
The Pirates won game1, 9-7, behind three runs in the top of the tenth. The Reds scored one of their own in the bottom, but it wasn’t enough. The highlight of the game may have been Bryan Price getting thrown out of the game in the tenth defending his players.
The next day wasn’t much better. On Saturday the Reds hosted the Pirates in a doubleheader. Things looked up for the Reds as they had two of their ace starters, Anthonty DeSclafani and Brandon Finnegan, going for them.
In game 2 of the series DeSclafani only lasted four innings, giving up six runs. Sean Rodriguez led the Pirates with a two run homer in the third inning. They got a nice start from James Taillon.
In the second half of the doubleheader, Finnegan had his worst outing of the season. He lasted only 2.1 innings, while allowing five runs. He gave up seven hits and allowed three walks in that short outing.
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Dan Straily has been the best pitcher for the Reds all season.
Then came the fourth game. Entering the game the Reds had a record of 62-86. They still had a chance to end up with 100 losses on the season.
The Reds went to their ace pitcher, Dan Straily. All year Straily has been the best pitcher on a struggling staff. Straily went six innings allowing three runs. This is the best season of his career. In his first full season in the majors, Straily went 10-8 in starting 27 games. With the victory over the Pirates Straily is now 13-8 in 29 starts with two remaining.
Beyond Straily, MVP candidate Joey Votto had another great game. Votto went four for four with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Raising his batting average to .319, he passed Jean Segura of the Arizona Diamondbacks to get to fourth in the National League. His OPS of .963 is second only to NL MVP favorite Daniel Murphy of the Washington Nationals.
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Finally, the Reds avoided 100 losses by winning their 63rd game of the year. Straily showed that he has better staying power than anyone else on the Reds staff. It seems as though Votto can get close to the MVP award now, too.
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