Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Colin Holderman reacts after being pulled from a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
PITTSBURGH — Jake Fraley had three RBIs and scored four times to power the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Fraley led off Sunday by grooving an 0-2 curveball from Zach Thompson (3-10) 341 feet to right for his seventh homer and fourth in six games. He walked in three of his next four plate appearances, and also drove in two runs with a single off the right-field wall in the sixth.
“He is locked in,” Reds manager David Bell said of Fraley. “You can see he has a really good approach at the plate. Great idea of the strike zone.””
Cincinnati took two of three from Pittsburgh, which has dropped eight of 10.
Reds left-hander Mike Minor (2-10) won for the first time since June 13, despite surrendering five runs on nine hits. Minor gave up two in the first, but was handed back a 3-2 lead when Mike Moustakas hit a two-run home run in the third that went 416 feet and landed in the final row above the wall in right.
Moustakas was 5 for 14 in his first series back from a calf injury, and has 12 home runs and 20 RBIs in 31 career games at PNC Park.
“Happy to be playing again and having fun out there again. … I like the way I see the ball here. The right field feels like it’s right there,” he said.
Fraley scored the third of four runs off Manny Banuelos in the sixth, stealing second after his two-run single before going home on a triple from Jonathan India. Donovan Solano capped the outburst with an RBI single, making it 7-2.
Thompson was replaced by Banuelos after using 78 pitches to get through five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Minor’s outing ended on a two-out, two-run double from Tucupita Marcano in the sixth. Jason Delay drove in Marcano with a single off Ian Gibaut, cutting the deficit to two.
“Felt like we threw some good pitches away to him and then we tried to go front-door slider and I missed down the middle. Then he gets the hit down the line because we weren’t really playing him there,” Minor said of the Marcano double. “He hits the ball down the line and gets a triple out of it, scores some runs and acts like he’s a really good hitter. … It was just a stupid pitch.”
Fraley scored for a fourth time on a single from Solano in the eighth. An RBI single from Nick Senzel then pushed the lead to four.
Roster moves
Pirates: LHP Cam Vieaux was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis. … RHP Yohan Ramirez was optioned to Indianapolis. … C Jose Godoy was designated for assignment.
Trainer’s room
Pirates: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (back spasms) could return Tuesday after having a full workout Saturday.
Saturday
Fraley’s two-run home run highlighted a four-run outburst in the fourth inning and Justin Dunn earned his first win in 16 months as the Reds beat the Pirates 10-1 on Saturday night.
Fraley’s homer landed in the Allegheny River and increased the Reds’ lead to 5-0. The blast was measured at 443 feet.
“It’s as good as you think it feels,” Fraley said with a smile about hitting a ball that far. “It’s awesome.”
Dunn (1-1) allowed one run in five innings in his third start since being called up from Triple-A Louisville. It was his first win since April 15, 2021, when he was pitching for Seattle and beat Baltimore in the second game of a doubleheader. In his prior two starts, Dunn had been tagged for eight runs in 12 innings. He gave up three hits this time while walking four and striking out four.
The Pirates’ Rodolfo Castro had two hits, including a solo home run in the fourth inning. Tyler Beede (1-3) was tagged for five runs, four earned, in four innings. He also gave up six hits and a walk to go with two strikeouts.
Up next
RHP Roansy Contreras (3-3, 4.02) will start Monday to kick off a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. He’ll face Jake Odorizzi (4-5, 4.15).
Be the first to comment