CINCINNATI -- A seventh inning home run by Nick Castellanos was the deciding blow in a 5-3 Pirates loss to the Reds Monday at Great American Ball Park, capping a game that started and finished with a spark of offense from the Pirates’ offense, but nothing in between.
Castellanos pounced on a Sam Howard fastball, and with a left-handed toss of his bat towards the Reds’ dugout, completed the comeback.
In the first, Phillip Evans and Colin Moran were both able to turn on inside but belt-high secondary pitches from José De León and put them in the seats. Evans’ homer was off a changeup. Moran’s was on a slider.
From the second to eighth inning, the Pirates’ only hit was a rolled single from starter JT Brubaker, and their only other base runners came on two walks and an error.
Bryan Reynolds opened the ninth with a home run to center, followed by a Moran bloop, but Reds closer Amir Garrett closed the door there.
Brubaker went four innings on the mound, working around three hits and four walks to only allow one run, which came off a León base hit in the second.
That second inning rally was a product of an overturned call on a fielder’s choice attempt, with the third baseman Evans not being able to get the ball to Adam Frazier at second in time for the force. Léon’s roller that found grass came with two outs and two strikes.
The Reds tied the game in the fifth on a Mike Moustakas home run off Luis Oviedo that stayed just inside the right field foul pole. Following Castellanos’ home run in the seventh, the Reds tacked on two more in the eighth off Michael Feliz.
De León struck out nine over five innings of two-run ball. Howard (1-1) took the loss. Sean Doolittle (1-0) gets the win after a scoreless seventh. Oviedo struck out four over two innings.
Much more Pirates coverage to come.
