The Reds churned out nine hits in the first four innings, one hit each by each batter in the starting lineup. They totaled 14 knocks and routed the Pirates, 11-4, to make Alfredo Simon the National League’s first 10-game winner and pull the Reds’ record to .500 (35-35) for the first time since they were 1-1 on April 2.
“Considering where we’ve been the first two months of the season, it’s a place we had to get to in order to move forward and beyond it,” manager Bryan Price said of his Reds, who were six games under the mark three weeks ago. “Certainly, coming into it, it wasn’t our goal to be .500 at the middle of June, but considering how we started, we had to get here.”
In a game that featured a one-hour, 15-minute rain delay in the seventh inning, the majority of the damage came in a station-to-station carousel of a third inning when Cincinnati scored seven times — a season best for one frame. Nine straight batters reached base against Pirates starter and former Red Edinson Volquez. Six got aboard via singles, Brandon Phillips had an RBI double and there was one walk and one hit batter.
Even Simon had a hit, albeit a controversial one. With the bases loaded, Simon hit a soft grounder to the left of the pitcher’s mound, and Devin Mesoraco appeared to be thrown out on a force play. However, the play went under an umpire review and it was determined Russell Martin violated Rule 7.13, which states a catcher may not block the pathway of the runner unless he has possession of the ball.
The overturned call shocked and angered the PNC Park crowd and everyone in a Pirates uniform, including manager Clint Hurdle, who was ejected for arguing by crew chief Jerry Layne. It also puzzled Mesoraco, a catcher who said he would have defended the play in a similar fashion to Martin.
“He just has to try to catch the ball and keep his foot on the base,” Mesoraco said. “It’s a force play, I don’t know. I don’t think that is the intention of the rule — a force play like that and he’s blocking the plate. I wouldn’t have done anything different myself.”
Somewhat lost in the fallout of the ruling was that it gave Simon an RBI single, and the bases were still loaded for Billy Hamilton. The speedy outfielder promptly struck a two-run single — the final punch of the third-inning onslaught.
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