Lodolo cruises through 7 innings for 5th straight win, Espinal homers in Reds' 2-1 win over Pirates

Tue, Jun 18, 2024
MLB News (AP)

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Nick Lodolo allowed one run in seven innings to win a fifth straight start, Santiago Espinal hit a two-run homer and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Lodolo (8-2) struck out eight without issuing a walk and gave up four hits. The left-hander has been tagged for seven runs in 30 1/3 innings in five starts since May 27.

Espinal put the Reds ahead in the fifth inning, driving a fastball from Bailey Falter just over a leaping Bryan Reynolds at the wall and 376 feet into the left field bleachers.

Alexis Diaz struck out one in a perfect ninth inning for his 16th save.

Falter (3-5) surrendered two runs on seven hits, going seven innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

Lodolo retired 11 in a row until Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a solo home run with one out in the seventh inning, sending a 2-2 curveball 382 feet to left.

Andrew McCutchen hit a two-out single ahead of a double down the left-field line from Reynolds in the third. Lodolo struck out Connor Joe to strand them in scoring position and keep Pittsburgh from taking an early lead.

Reynolds was 2 for 4, extending his hit streak to 16 games with a swinging bunt in the first. He came close to tying the score in the eighth, sending a sharp line drive off Fernando Cruz to center with one out and McCutchen on first.

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Stuart Fairchild tracked it for an overhead catch just shy of the wall and McCutchen, running past second base, was thrown out at first for an inning-ending double play.

UP NEXT

RHP Hunter Greene (5-2, 3.61 ERA) will look to win sixth straight decision for the Reds when he takes the mound Wednesday to close the series opposite Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (8-4, 3.36). Greene is 5-0 in nine starts since allowing four runs in a 7-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on April 22; Keller is 6-1 dating to May 6, but gave up four runs in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals his last time out on June 13.

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