PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Holt and Brandon Phillips had three hits apiece, helping Brandon Finnegan and the Cincinnati Reds beat the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 on Sunday.
Holt drove in three runs and Phillips scored three times as last-place Cincinnati (60-82) closed the four-game set with three straight wins. Pittsburgh (69-72) has dropped 11 of 13 to fall off the pace in the NL wild-card race.
Pirates center fielder Gregory Polanco was ejected by umpire Pat Hoberg for arguing balls and strikes in the third inning. It was Polanco’s first career ejection.
Finnegan (9-10) struck out seven in five innings, but allowed five hits and walked five. Jumbo Diaz then pitched two innings and Ross Ohlendorf and Wandy Peralta each got three outs, completing a seven-hitter.
Cincinnati grabbed control with five runs in the second, taking advantage of a two-base error by center fielder Andrew McCutchen and some wildness by Ryan Vogelsong (3-5). Holt had the big blow, a two-run triple that gave the Reds a 4-0 lead. Eugenio Suarez followed with an RBI single.
Vogelsong was charged with six runs and seven hits in four innings.
Cincinnati finished with 13 hits. Joey Votto, one of the hottest hitters in the majors, was the only starting position player to fail to record a hit for the Reds.
TRAINING ROOM
Reds: Alfredo Simon will miss the rest of the year with a right shoulder injury that will require surgery, manager Bryan Price said. Simon went 2-7 with a 9.37 ERA this season. … INF Jose Peraza was given the day off after being hit by a pitch in his hand Saturday.
Pirates: 2B Josh Harrison’s right groin injury is “more than day to day” and could potentially be season ending, according to general manager Neal Huntington.
UP NEXT
Reds: Keyvius Sampson (0-1, 3.90 ERA) will move to the rotation in order for the Reds to skip the start of Anthony DeSclafani. Sampson will be making his second start in 2015 after starting 12 games in 2016.
Pirates: Gerrit Cole (7-9, 3.55 ERA) is expected to return from the disabled list to start Monday at Philadelphia. Cole has been inactive since Aug. 24 with right elbow inflammation. He has made just 20 starts after pitching 32 games in 2015.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
