Reds take series over struggling Bucs
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CINCINNATI -- Chase Burns won his 12th straight decision and Sal Stewart hit his 24th home run as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-2, on Sunday to take three of four in the series.
Stewart tied Joey Votto for second-most homers by a Reds rookie. Votto hit 24 in 2008. Frank Robinson holds the franchise's rookie mark with 38 homers in 1956.
Burns (13-1) is the first Reds pitcher to win 12 straight decisions since Brooks Lawrence won 13 straight in 1956.
Burns allowed one run on two hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in six innings and lowered his ERA to 2.35. It was Burns' 17th start allowing two runs or fewer.
The game was delayed 25 minutes in the fourth while the grounds crew applied drying compound on the infield and batter's box. Despite steady rainfall, the tarp was never brought out. Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected after voicing his displeasure.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (6-8) allowed three runs on four straight hits in the first inning.
Stewart's homer into the second deck of the bleachers in left field put the Reds ahead 1-0.
JJ Bleday followed with a single and scored on a double by Tyler Stephenson, who then came home on Nathaniel Lowe's single to make it 3-0.
Former Pirate Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a homer to make the score 4-0 in the second.
Elly De La Cruz's third-inning single off Noah Murdock drove in two runs to make the score 7-0. Keller allowed seven earned runs and walked four in two innings.
Consecutive RBI doubles by Lowe and Dane Myers off Ron Marinaccio made the score 9-1 in the fourth.
Saturday's game
Braxton Ashcraft gave up two hits over five innings, while a pair of bases-loaded walks during a three-run third helped the Pirates snap a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Reds on Saturday night.
Steady rain was falling in the third inning when Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott issued four walks including two with the bases loaded to Brandon Lowe and Esmerlyn Valdez to help the Pirates take a 2-0 lead.
The game was delayed one hour and 46 minutes by rain during the sixth inning.
Abbott threw 43 pitches in the third. Following his walk to Reynolds, Abbott had the grounds crew apply drying compound to the mound. His foot slipped on two of his deliveries to Valdez.
Abbott (5-7) allowed three earned runs on three hits with five walks and one strikeout on 98 pitches.
Ashcraft (11-4) retired the first eight batters and didn't allow a hit until Nathaniel Lowe's single with one out in the fourth.
Reds catcher Jose Trevino hit his fourth home run of the season to make the score 3-1 in the fifth. That was the only run allowed by Ashcraft, who had a walk and five strikeouts.
Marcell Ozuna doubled and scored on Henry Davis' single to extend the Pirates' lead to 4-1 in the sixth shortly before the game was delayed.
Carmen Mlodzinski replaced Ashcraft following the rain delay and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with a walk and four strikeouts.
Gregory Soto pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his 14th save.
Bullpen help
The Pirates acquired right-handed reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees on Saturday in hopes of giving their struggling bullpen a boost.
Pittsburgh sent prospects Omar Alfonso, a catcher, and Luis Cruz, an outfielder, to New York for Doval.
Doval made his Pirates debut in the eighth inning Sunday and allowed an opposite-field home run by Stephenson.
The 29-year-old Doval, an All-Star in 2023 when he served as the closer for the San Francisco Giants, provides Pittsburgh with a much-needed experienced arm as the Pirates try to hang around in the crowded race for a National League wild-card spot.
Pittsburgh's bullpen has been an issue all season. The club has blown 20 saves this season, perhaps the biggest reason the Pirates entered Saturday at 55-56 despite scoring the second-most runs in the majors. The latest setback came on Friday night, when a two-run lead in the eighth inning in Cincinnati morphed into an 8-7 loss.
Doval went 3-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 44 games this season for the Yankees. He has had issues with walks recently, issuing at least one free pass in four of his last five appearances with New York, including two while taking the loss against the Chicago White Sox on July 29. Doval has only thrown 56% of his first pitches for strikes this season, among the worst first-strike percentages in the majors.
The durable Doval is one of only eight pitchers to appear in at least 60 games in each of the last four seasons.
Pittsburgh is hoping a new setting provides a fresh start. The Pirates could also use the help. The club designated former closer Dennis Santana for assignment last month and has few viable right-handed options near the back end of the bullpen.
O'Hearn out
The Pirates placed Ryan O'Hearn on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained left quad and he is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
O'Hearn pulled up and grabbed his left leg while running to first base on a groundout in the ninth inning on Friday night's 8-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He was helped off the field by Kelly and a member of the training staff.
The Pirates signed O'Hearn to a two-year, $29 million free-agent contract in January. He is batting .270 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 96 games. He missed two weeks in May with a right quad injury.
O'Hearn has made 49 appearances at first base, 42 in right field, and 17 as the designated hitter. He homered three times and set a Pirates single-game franchise record with 10 RBIs against the Braves on July 7.
In other moves Saturday, the Pirates recalled right-hander Isaac Mattson from Triple-A Indianapolis, activated catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. from the IL and optioned right-hander Antwone Kelly to Triple-A.
Up next
Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.56 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight at Milwaukee.