Grandal homer lifts Bucs
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The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH -- Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a pitch from Alexis Díaz (1-4) before Grandal connected for his seventh homer -- a drive into the first row above the Clemente Wall in right field. It was Grandal's fourth career game-ending homer.
"My 3-year-old keeps telling me to hit homers," Grandal said. "Every time he's said that, I've hit a homer. So he needs to keep telling me the same thing over and over."
Díaz blew a save opportunity for the first time since May 13, when he allowed two runs in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss to Arizona. It was the first loss for the closer since May 19 at the Dodgers.
"We put ourselves in a position to win," Reds manager David Bell said. "Alexis has been through it before, so he'll bounce back. But obviously, he's not happy with it, but he has been great in that spot."
Aroldis Chapman (5-4) handled the ninth for the win. Elly De La Cruz reached on a leadoff single, but Chapman picked him off before striking out Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits for Pittsburgh, which won three of four in the series.
"The confidence that he has is really important for our group," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Kiner-Falefa. "I mean, this is a veteran guy that has played in some major markets. … We need that energy in our clubhouse. He stepped right into our clubhouse, has a leadership role, has a ton of energy."
Cincinnati trailed 2-0 before rallying for three runs in the seventh. Noelvi Marte singled and advanced to third on Jonathan India's one-out double off Kyle Nicolas.
Elly De La Cruz then greeted Jalen Beeks with an RBI single. Following an intentional walk to Stephenson, India scampered home when Beeks mishandled Friedl's sacrifice bunt. A bases-loaded walk by Spencer Steer gave the Reds a 3-2 lead.
Dennis Santana then replaced Beeks and limited the damage by retiring Santiago Espinal and Dominic Smith, leaving the bases loaded.
Luis L. Ortiz pitched six sparkling innings for Pittsburgh. He allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one.
The Pirates jumped in front in the first. Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single against Nick Martinez and took second on a fielding error by Steer in left. He moved to third on Oneil Cruz's single and scored on Joey Bart's groundout.
"I take pride in taking care of myself," said Martinez, who allowed two runs in three innings on three days of rest. "Working with the trainers and being completely transparent about how I feel and where my body's at … I'm good to go. I can do this."
Bart was removed with left hamstring discomfort in the third. He was replaced by Connor Joe as the designated hitter.
Bryan Reynolds made it 2-0 when he singled home Michael A. Taylor in the third.
"We had a couple opportunities we didn't take advantage of," Shelton said. "At that point, yeah, you look back and think, 'That's going to bite you.' A couple things we have to be a little more aware of."
Trainer's room
Pirates: RHP Hunter Stratton was placed on the 60-day injured list with a ruptured left patella tendon. Stratton was carted off in the fourth inning Saturday after chasing a wild pitch and colliding with the brick wall behind the plate.
Saturday's game
Elly De La Cruz had three hits and drove in a pair of runs as the Reds breezed past the sloppy Pirates 10-2 on Saturday night.
Jonathan India and Friedl added two hits apiece for the Reds.
De La Cruz hit an RBI single in the fifth and a run-scoring double in the sixth. The 6-foot-5 shortstop also boosted his stolen base total to a major league-leading 61 by swiping second base after a one-out walk in the first inning. De La Cruz eventually scored on a single by Stephenson as part of a four-run outburst against Jake Woodford (0-6).
"The style of play, I think, is exactly what we want," Bell said. "Always playing hard. It was nice for it to work out. Aggressive baserunning. Big at-bats offensively, it was a good game."
Rookie Julian Aguiar (1-0) allowed two runs in six innings to pick up his first career victory. The 23-year-old right-hander, Cincinnati's minor league Pitcher of the Year in 2023, struck out four against two walks in his second start since being called up to help the Reds' injury-depleted pitching staff.
"My mentality wasn't to come up here and think 'I'm going to be here for a week,'" Aguiar said. "It's 'Come take a spot.'"
Casey Kelly, recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, pitched three innings for his first career save. It was the first major league appearance for the 34-year-old right-hander since 2018.
Rowdy Tellez hit his 11th homer of the season for the Pirates, a towering shot off Aguiar that became the 80th ball to reach the Allegheny River when it splashed into the water following a bounce.
The shot was the lone highlight for the Pirates on a night when the club inducted outfielder Barry Bonds, catcher Manny Sanguillen and manager Jim Leyland into its Hall of Fame.
The Reds wasted little time pouncing on an ineffective Woodford, whose time in the rotation may be nearing an end. Cincinnati touched Woodford for four in the first and added four more in the fourth as Woodford's ERA soared to 8.01.
Unlike Friday night -- when the Reds let a five-run lead slip away in what became a 6-5 loss -- this time there would be no meltdown.
Instead, it was the Pirates who scuffled, making errors in the field and on the basepaths, most notably in the fourth inning when Cruz was tagged out trying to advance from second to third on a grounder to third base by catcher Bart.
Espinal easily tagged out a sliding Cruz, who drew a groan from the sixth sellout crowd of the season on his way back to the dugout.
"We didn't play good baseball tonight," Shelton said. "We made baserunning mistakes, we made defensive mistakes, we didn't play well."
Things grew so bleak for Pittsburgh late that Tellez made his second career appearance on the mound in the ninth. The left-handed Tellez pitched a scoreless frame and induced Luke Maile into a double play on a 70 mph fastball.
Up next
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller (11-7, 3.76 ERA) will take the mound tonight to begin a three-game series against the Cubs, starting opposite RHP Jameson Taillon (8-8, 3.77 ERA).