PITTSBURGH (AP) – Elly De La Cruz had three hits and scored two runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the sloppy Pittsburgh Pirates 10-2 on Saturday night.
Jonathan India and TJ Friedl each scored twice for the Reds, who defeated the Pirates for only the third time in nine meetings this season.
De La Cruz hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and a run-scoring double in the sixth. The 6-foot-5 shortstop also increased his stolen base total to a major league-leading 61 by stealing second base after a one-out walk in the first inning. De La Cruz finally scored on a single by Stephenson as part of a four-run outburst against Jake Woodford (0-6).
Rookie Julian Aguiar (1-0) allowed two runs in six innings to earn his first career win. The 23-year-old right-hander, Cincinnati’s 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, struck out four against two walks.
Casey Kelly, recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, pitched three innings for his first career save, marking the 34-year-old right-hander’s first major league appearance since 2018.
Rowdy Tellez hit his 11th home run of the season for the Pirates, a massive hit off Aguiar that reached the Allegheny River as the 80th ball when it splashed into the water after an impact.
The shot was the only highlight for the Pirates on a night in which the club inducted outfielder Barry Bonds, catcher Manny Sanguillen and manager Jim Leyland into the Hall of Fame.
The Reds didn’t wait long to pounce on the ineffective Woodford, whose time in the rotation may be coming to an end. Cincinnati got four hits for Woodford in the first inning and added four more in the fourth, while Woodford’s ERA rose to 8.01.
Unlike on Friday night, when the Reds squandered a five-point lead and ended up losing 5-6, there was no collapse this time.
Instead, it was the Pirates who made the mistakes. The team made mistakes in the field and on the basepaths, most notably in the fourth inning when Oneil Cruz, attempting to advance from second to third base, was eliminated by a grounder to third base by catcher Joey Bart.
Santiago Espinal easily took down the sliding Cruz, who elicited a groan from the sixth sold-out stadium of the season on his way back to the team bench.
Things got so dire for Pittsburgh that Tellez found himself on the mound for the second time in his career in the ninth inning. The left-handed Tellez threw a scoreless run and forced Luke Maile into a double play with a 70 mph fastball.
TRAINING ROOM
Reds: RHP Hunter Greene (right elbow) said he is dealing with inflammation, but the UCL in his elbow remains in good condition. Greene, who has been out since Aug. 13, will not pitch for at least two more weeks while the swelling goes down.
Pirates: Manager Derek Shelton said the team is trying to figure out when rookie RHP Jared Jones (latius strain) will make his next start. Jones, out since July 3, has made three rehab starts for Triple-A Indianapolis. … RHP Hunter Stratton left the game in the fourth inning on a cart with a left leg injury after taking an awkward fall while trying to recover the ball after a wild pitch near the backstop.
Next
The series ends on Sunday. Luis Ortiz (5-4, 3.56 ERA) starts for the Pirates. The Reds have not yet announced a starter.
