Cincinnati 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 7:10 PM ET, Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
83°
Umpires:
Home -
Manny Gonzalez, 1B -
Greg Gibson, 2B -
Phil Cuzzi, 3B -
Gerry Davis
Attendance:
21203
By SportsDirect Inc.
Reds 2, Pirates 1: Homer Bailey pitched seven strong innings as host Cincinnati completed a sweep of reeling Pittsburgh.
Scott Rolen drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and Brandon Phillips had a pair of hits as the Reds moved a season-high 30 games over .500 at 87-57. Their magic number for clinching the NL Central was reduced to eight.
Bailey (11-9) won for the first time in six starts, allowing one run on six hits to improve to 7-2 lifetime against the Pirates and send them to their sixth consecutive loss.
Sam LeCure worked a perfect eighth before J.J. Hoover finished up in the ninth for his first career save to give manager Dusty Baker his 1,571st victory, tying Hall of Famer Dick Williams for 19th on the all-time list.
Pittsburgh ace A.J. Burnett (15-7) lost his third straight decision and remained winless in his last five starts. He gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight in six innings as the Pirates stayed 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second wild card spot.
The Pirates erased a 1-0 lead in the fourth on consecutive singles by Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez, but squandered a chance to go ahead in the sixth on a failed suicide squeeze when Cincinnati called for a pitchout and Ryan Hanigan tagged out Alex Presley at home.
The Reds scored the go-ahead run in the sixth when Ryan Ludwick doubled, moved to third on Jay Bruce's long flyout and scored on Rolen's sacrifice fly.
NOTEBOOK: Cincinnati is 30 games over .500 for the first time since Oct. 2, 1999. ... With LHP Aroldis Chapman sidelined with shoulder fatigue, RHP Jonathan Broxton is the No. 1 candidate to serve as closer for the Reds, although Baker said he would not use him three straight days. ... Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez was a late scratch from Wednesday's game due to discomfort in his right wrist. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart, who has missed eight games with an oblique strain, said he is making good progress. ... Pirates RHP Jeff Karstens, who has been sidelined with a strained right hip flexor, will pitch out of the bullpen in what the team called a "short-term" move. ... Cincinnati opens a six-game road trip at Miami on Friday while Pittsburgh heads to Chicago for a four-game series beginning Friday.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Pittsburgh
|
7 |
0 |
9 |
.212 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
| Cincinnati
|
6 |
0 |
7 |
.207 |
15 |
11 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
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