McCutchen Helps Pirates Edge Reds 7-6
CINCINNATI (KDKA/AP) -- No lead was safe in Cincinnati as the Pirates battled the Reds Sunday afternoon.
The Pirates scored four in the first, but then had to battle back late to beat the defending division champions. Ultimately, the Pirates came out on top 7-6 with Andrew McCutchen helping to lead the way.
McCutchen opened the game with a homer against the Reds' slow-starting Edinson Volquez. Later, McCutchen singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning.
Both McCutchen and Jose Tabata started the game with back-to-back homers. It was only the third time that's happened in the history of the Pirates.
On his third pitch of the game, McCutchen homered to right. It was the outfielder's seventh leadoff homer. The crowd of 32,105 was still murmuring when Tabata homered on the next pitch as well, earning a place in Pirates history.
The only other Pirate duos to lead off a game with homers: Peter Coscarart and James Russell against Boston in 1945, and Omar Moreno and Johnny Ray against Houston in 1982.
For the Reds, Volquez threw hard - his fastball hit 96 mph - but had poor control.
After the homers, he walked Lyle Overbay on four pitches. Neil Walker doubled off the wall in center, and Volquez walked Garrett Jones and Chris Snyder to force in a run. Ronny Cedeno hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center to give the Bucs a 4-0 lead.
Jonny Gomes led off the second with a solo shot off Jeff Karstens, his third homer in his last five at-bats. Miguel Cairo also had a solo shot off Karstens.
In his first start of the season, Karstens lasted 4 1-3 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs. He matched his career high with six strikeouts.
Jay Bruce had an RBI single and a solo homer that tied it 6-all in the seventh inning.
McCutchen put the Pirates ahead to stay with his third hit of the game. He also walked twice in five plate appearances.
Chris Resop (1-0) escaped yet another Reds threat in the seventh, helping the Pirates win for only the second time in their last seven games.
Closer Joel Hanrahan came on with two aboard in the eighth and got Scott Rolen to line into a double play, started by Cedeno's diving catch. The Reds then loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Hanrahan got Drew Stubbs to fly out, clinching his fifth save in five chances.
The Pirates face the Reds again Monday at 7:10 p.m. before heading to Florida for three games against the Marlins.
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