The Reds let the final contest of a three-game series get away as the Pirates rallied for a 10-7 win and series sweep on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.
In the eighth inning, Pirates catcher Michael McKenry stroked his second home run of the contest, a two-run shot off reliever Jonathan Broxton, which tied the game at 6. That set up some heroics from Starling Marte, who smacked a two-run homer off Broxton, lifting the Pirates to an 8-6 lead.
“You can never count us out,” McKenry said. “This team is relentless. We come to play for the very last out, and we did that today. Pitch after pitch, at-bat after tough at-bat … And finally some good things started happening.”
The Pirates added two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Gaby Sanchez and a Neil Walker RBI-single off Aroldis Chapman, sealing the victory. The Pirates trailed 5-0 going into the seventh inning.
“That’s the roughest one in a long time,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “It seemed like we left those runners out there in the eighth, and that would have been a bigger cushion. No matter who we brought in, they were all over us. I’ve never seen big [Jonathon] Broxton that wild, and every homer was preceded by a walk, and that was a rough day. It was a rough day for all of us.”
The Reds have lost their last five, and their record is now 5-7. The Pirates stretched their winning streak to three games.
Broxton, who got the loss, allowed three hits and six runs in two-thirds of an inning. It was only second time in his career that he has allowed two homers in a game.
Reds right-hander Mat Latos gave up three runs and nine hits in a 6 2/3 innings. Latos recorded six strikeouts and received a no decision.
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