Following a three-game losing streak and a three-game layoff, the Pirates relied on nine first and second inning runs to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-6, at Great American Ball Park on Thursday.
The Pirates (4-13), who had not played since Sunday after their weekday series with the Cardinals was postponed, scored early and often.
Adam Frazier and Colin Moran each hit first inning solo homeruns, while Gregory Polanco added a leadoff solo blast in the second to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. This was the first time in franchise history that Pittsburgh had three of its first six batters hit homeruns, per Greg Brown.
The second inning scoring did not stop there. Jacob Stallings brought in Erik Gonzalez on an RBI single, followed by Josh Bell bringing Stallings and Frazier home on a two-run single to pad the Pirates lead at 6-0. This was followed by a Colin Moran RBI single, a Gregory Polanco bases-loaded walk and an Erik Gonzalez RBI groundout to extend the Pirates' massive lead to 9-0.
Cincinnati (8-11) starter Anthony DeSclafani lasted just two innings, allowing nine hits and nine earned runs in the brief outing.
The Reds would not simply go away, however.
Nick Senzel drove in Eugenio Suarez with an RBI single in the bottom of the second to get the Reds on the board. Senzel then brought himself and Jesse Winker across on a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 9-3. Shortstop Freddy Galvis helped chip into the deficit when he added a solo homerun of his own in the bottom of the seventh, making it 9-4.
The Pirates got themselves into some serious trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Senzel doubled off of Geoff Hartlieb to drive in Joey Votto to bring the deficit down to 9-5. Richard Rodriguez, who relieved Hartlieb, struck out Josh VanMeter and got Galvis to ground out, leaving two key runs on the bases for the Reds.
Keone Kela made his season debut for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the ninth. After surrendering a leadoff homerun to Tucker Barnhart and a single to Phillip Ervin, Kela induced outs of Nick Castellanos, Votto and Suarez to seal the victory for the Pirates.
Trevor Williams earned his first victory of 2020, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out four Reds over five innings. Southpaw reliever Sam Howard struck out three batters in his 1.1 innings.
Erik Gonzalez added two doubles and continued his hot streak, maintaining a sharp .359 batting average.
The Pirates and Reds will meet again on Friday evening, when Chad Kuhl and Sonny Gray face off at Great American Ball Park.
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