Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz drives in a run with a single off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tony Santillan in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz hit a tie-breaking single in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a sweep of Cincinnati with a 1-0 win on Sunday.

Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin doubled off the center field wall against Reds reliever Tony Santillan (1-1) with two outs in the eighth. Pinch hitter Jake Mangum worked a full count walk and Cruz followed by lacing a single to center. Griffin beat TJ Friedl’s throw home with ease as Pittsburgh responded to getting swept at home by St. Louis by taking three straight from the Reds.

Gregory Soto (3-0) got the last four outs after taking over following a brilliant performance by starter Braxton Ashcraft.

A day after seven pitchers combined to issue 11 walks — including an MLB-record tying seven straight at one point — Cincinnati rookie Chase Burns was far more efficient while matching Ashcraft pitch for pitch

Ashcraft bounced back from a rocky performance in a loss to St. Louis with the best start of his young career. The 26-year-old allowed four hits over 7 2/3 innings with a pair of walks and six strikeouts. He also benefited from a couple of excellent defensive plays behind him.

Second baseman Brandon Lowe — all 5-foot-9 of him — climbed the ladder to rob JJ Bleday of a hit to end the sixth, a snag that came with Friedl on second base representing the go-ahead run. Third baseman Nick Gonzales threw out Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer at the plate to help Pittsburgh get out of a two-on, one-out threat in the eighth.

Burns, a 23-year-old rookie, was perhaps even better. The hard-throwing right-hander, whose fastball easily tops 100 mph, allowed a leadoff infield single to Cruz, then retired 16 straight before Joey Bart’s single with one out in the sixth. Burns allowed three hits in seven-plus innings, with a walk and seven strikeouts, to lower his ERA to 2.20.

Saturday’s game

Carmen Mlodzinski had a career-high 10 strikeouts, Pittsburgh tied the MLB record for consecutive walks in an inning, and the Pirates beat the Reds 17-7 on Saturday.

The Pirates drew seven consecutive walks in their five-run second inning, tying the mark set by the Chicago White Sox (Aug. 28, 1909) and Atlanta Braves (May 25, 1983). Pittsburgh’s first four runs in the inning came without putting a ball in play before Henry Davis grounded into an RBI force out to cap the inning and make it 10-3.

The Pirates set season highs for runs (17) and hits (19), and each of Pittsburgh’s starters in the lineup had at least one RBI.

Mlodzinski (2-2) gave up five runs, eight hits and walked two in 5 1/3 innings.

Ryan O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Griffin each had an RBI double in the first inning and the Pirates led 5-2 going into the second.

O’Hearn and Ozuna had three RBIs apiece and Griffin was 4 for 5 with a triple, a double and two RBIs. Spencer Horwitz and Gonzales each drove in two runs. Lowe walked four times, the most by a Pirates player this season, and scored three runs.

Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder (3-2) allowed eight runs and five hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Will Benson and Bleday each hit a home run for the Reds. Nathaniel Lowe went 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.

The Pirates beat the Reds 9-1 in the series opener Friday to snap a five-game losing streak.