Pittsburgh held a 7-6 lead entering the ninth inning. One swing ended it. Eugenio Suárez homered to right, scoring Arroyo and Bleday, and the Cincinnati Reds walked out of PNC Park with a 9-7 victory over the Pirates on Saturday.
The game belonged to neither team for long. Brandon Lowe gave Pittsburgh its first lead with a three-run homer to right in the third, scoring Triolo and Mangum, and the Pirates pushed the advantage to 4-2 in the fourth when Triolo singled to left to score Rodríguez. Cincinnati answered with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth — Jose Trevino's single to right brought home Marte and Steer to put the Reds back in front, 6-4. Pittsburgh clawed back to tie it at 6-6 in the seventh, and Esmerlyn Valdez's solo homer to right center in the eighth gave the Pirates a 7-6 edge. It did not hold.
Suárez's blast — 344 feet to right — was the final blow. He finished 1-for-4 with a walk, 3 RBI, and his eighth home run of the season. Caleb Ferguson, who allowed 1 run in 1.0 inning, earned his first win of the season. Chase Petty worked a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.
Chase Burns was sharp for six innings, striking out 10 and walking none, but allowed 5 runs on 9 hits. He did not factor in the decision. Gregory Soto took the loss, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits in 1.0 inning, with a 3.93 ERA. Pittsburgh's two errors did not help its cause.
Lowe finished 1-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI, his 20th homer and 56th RBI of the season. In doing so, he reached 500 career RBI in this game. Cincinnati moved to 38-42. Pittsburgh fell to 41-41.