Pirates 7, Reds 3 - Francisco Liriano finally logs a win against the Reds

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Eugenio Suarez blasted a 2-run triple in the Bottom of the 9th to help make the scoreline respectable, but that was pretty much the lone scoreboard impact the team had on the evening.

Raisel Iglesias had his worst start in months, Joey Votto merely walked and was hit by a pitch, and the trio of Brayan Pena, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce each went 2 for 4 with singles, but on a night where no player really moved the needle, Suarez gets the nod for making this recap a solid hundred words longer than it otherwise would have been.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  them B's mentioned above, each of whom had 2 singles; Josh Smith, who fired a pair of scoreless innings in relief; and Carlos Contreras, who also tossed 2 scoreless frames from the 'pen.

Key Plays

• Things were scoreless through the game's first pair of innings, but the Pirates got on the board in the Top of the 3rd.  Francisco Liriano led off by tomahawking a pitch that may well have hit a RH batter in the shoulder for a ground-rule double to RF, and he scored a batter later on a single up the middle by Gregory Polanco.  Starling Marte then followed with a single, and that burned badly when Andrew McCutchen blasted the first pitch he saw for a 3-run dinger well over the wall in RF.  Jung HO Kang then poked a double over the head of Jason Bourgeois in CF, moved to 3B on a ground-out, and scored on a balk from Raisel Iglesias.  Reds trailed, 5-0.
• After that, Iglesias exited, and the scoring slowed down from both sides.  For awhile, at least.
• Kang blasted a solo dinger in the Top of the 8th to tack on another Pirate run, and a double-walk-double yielded by Ryan Mattheus in the Top of the 9th added yet one more to put the Reds down 7-0.
• The Bottom of the 9th did include some life from the Reds, however.  Mark Melancon was brought on to pitch for the Buccos, and he promptly allowed a single to Jay Bruce.  Bruce later took 2B on fielder's indifference with 1-out, and he moved to 3B on Brayan Pena's infield single.  Skip Schumaker then grittily grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Bruce, and after Bourgeois walked, Suarez bonked a 2-run triple to the wall in RF.  That, unfortunately, was the last of the Reds' efforts, and they lost 7-3.