An Early Setback
From the get-go, things didn't start in our favor
. Despite a promising start with Enmanuel Valdez taking a walk in the top of the 1st, Bryan Reynolds' strikeout and the unfortunate double play involving Joey Bart meant we were unable to draw first blood. The bottom of the 1st saw Cincinnati capitalize on our misfortune when Jeimer Candelario blasted a 384-foot homer to left, pulling them ahead 3-0.Hope on the Horizon in the 5th
The Reds added two more in the 3rd due to some unfortunate errors on our side. But as true Pirates, we battled back in the top of the 5th inning. Jack Suwinski walked, Tommy Pham hit a crucial double that brought Suwinski home, followed shortly by Adam Frazier's powerful two-run homer to right, bringing the score to 5-3
. Frazier's homer gave us hope and reminded Cincinnati that the Pittsburgh Pirates aren't ones to back down easily.Pressure Down the Line
Despite our best efforts, the final innings proved challenging. Ke'Bryan Hayes showed patience with a walk in the 7th, but our bats fell silent. The Reds' bullpen held strong, and Bryan Reynolds and fan-favorite Andrew McCutchen couldn’t find the breakthrough we needed in the 8th. Finally, Endy Rodríguez, Hayes, and Suwinski couldn't muster a late rally in the 9th against Cincinnati's closer, sealing their 5-3 victory.In the Pittsburgh spirit, though, we played hard and made the Reds sweat. Let's take the positives from that 5th inning fight and bring that energy into our next matchup. Keep the faith, fellow Pirates fans!
Scoreboard for Pirates @ Reds (April 11th, 2025)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |