Yasmani Grandal of the Pittsburgh Pirates, bottom right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
PITTSBURGH – Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a pitch from Alexis Diaz (1-4) before Grandal hit his seventh home run – a hit into the first row over the Clemente Wall in right field. It was Grandal’s fourth game-winning home run of his career.
“My 3-year-old keeps telling me to hit home runs,” Grandal said. “Every time he’s said that, I’ve hit a home run. So he has to keep telling me the same thing.”
Diaz wasted a save opportunity for the first time since May 13, when he allowed two runs in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss to Arizona. It was the closer’s first loss since May 19 at the Dodgers.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we can win,” said Reds manager David Bell. “Alexis has been through this before, so he’ll bounce back. Of course he’s not happy with it, but he was great in that situation.”
Aroldis Chapman (5-4) led off the ninth to earn the win. Elly De La Cruz reached first base on a leadoff single, but Chapman intercepted it before throwing out Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits for Pittsburgh, which won three of four games in the series.
“The confidence that he has is really important for our group,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Kiner-Falefa. “I mean, this is a veteran player who has played in some big markets. … We need that energy in our locker room. He’s come right into our locker room, has a leadership role, has a lot of energy.”
Cincinnati trailed 2-0 before scoring three runs in the seventh inning. Noelvi Marte hit a single and moved to third base with one out thanks to Jonathan India’s double against Kyle Nicolas.
Elly De La Cruz then greeted Jalen Beeks with an RBI single. After an intentional walk to Stephenson, India ran home when Beeks mishandled Friedl’s sacrifice bunt.
A walk by Spencer Steer with the bases full gave the Reds a 3-2 lead.
Dennis Santana then replaced Beeks and limited the damage by taking Santiago Espinal and Dominic Smith out of the game, leaving the bases loaded.
Luis L. Ortiz threw six brilliant innings for Pittsburgh, allowing four hits, striking out five and walking one.
The Pirates took the lead in the first. Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single against Nick Martinez and reached second base on a fielding error by Steer in left. He advanced to third on Oneil Cruz’s single and scored on Joey Bart’s groundout.
“I pride myself on taking care of myself,” said Martinez, who allowed two runs in three innings on three days’ rest. “Working with the trainers and being completely transparent about how I’m feeling and how my body is … I’m ready to go. I can do this.”
Bart was substituted in the third inning due to left thigh discomfort. He was replaced by Connor Joe as designated hitter.
Bryan Reynolds increased the lead to 2-0 when he brought home a single for Michael A. Taylor in the third inning.
“We had a couple of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on,” Shelton said. “At this point, yeah, you look back and think, ‘That’s going to be your undoing.’ There are a couple of things we need to pay a little more attention to.”
TRAINING ROOM
Pirates: RHP Hunter Stratton was placed on the 60-day injured list because of a torn left patellar tendon. Stratton was carried off the field in the fourth inning on Saturday after chasing a wild pitch and colliding with the brick wall behind the plate.
Next
Reds: No starter has been announced for Tuesday, the start of a three-game series against Oakland. RHP Mitch Spence (7-9, 4.67 ERA) will play for the Athletics.
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller (11-7, 3.76 ERA) will take the mound on Monday to begin a three-game series against the Cubs, opposing RHP Jameson Taillon (8-8, 3.77 ERA).
