Rake Fraley, Mike Moustakas homer for second straight game in Reds’ 9-5 win over Pirates

Well, you can echo pretty much everything I said about Jake Fraley yesterday. The only difference is that today things went even better today for the Reds’ outfielder in the 9-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had himself a hell of an afternoon, reaching base all 5 times, going 2 for 2 with a solo home run, 3 walks, and 3 RBI. He led off the game with that solo home run and almost did it again in the 6th, smashing a ball so hard off the top of the wall that he only managed a single out of it.

It was another big day at the plate for the Redlegs, as they scored 9 runs and out-hit the Pirates 13-10. After Pittsburgh answered Fraley’s home run with a couple of runs in the bottom of the 1st, Mike Moustakas would put the Reds back on top for good with a 2-run blast that landed in the top row of the right field seats. Things would remain that way until the Reds plated 4 in the top of the 6th. A Pirates pitching change to start the inning immediately resulted in 2 walks. Both runners would advance on a sacrifice bunt by Mitch Papierski and then score on the aforementioned wall-blaster by Fraley. The merry-go-round would continue from there. Jonathan India would score Fraley on a triple and then score on an RBI single by Donovan Solano, one of his 3 hits on the afternoon.

Reds’ starter Mike Minor settled in after that 2-run top of the first, limiting damage and keeping the Pirates at bay. Things went well until they didn’t, however and the Pirates were able to string together a bunch of hits in the bottom of the 6th and cut the lead to 7-5, chasing Minor from the game. He finished with a line of: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. The bullpen held steady once again, allowing only 2 base runners over the final 3 innings and a third. The Reds added a couple insurance runs in the 8th, as Donovan Solano would hit his 2nd RBI single of the day while Nick Senzel would join the fun with an RBI single of his own, part of his 2-hit afternoon. Alexis Diaz slammed the door in the 9th to give the Reds the 9-5 victory.

The Reds will stay on the road and head across the state to take on the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow night. Luis Cessa (3-1, 5.50 ERA) makes his first start of the season opposite Noah Syndergaard (7–8, 3.95 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT. Go Reds.