CINCINNATI (AP) — Elias Diaz hit a tiebreaking homer, and Colin Moran also homered and drove in three runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates pulled away to their seventh straight win over the Cincinnati Reds, 8-4 on Friday night.
The Pirates are 13-4 against their Ohio River rivals this season with their longest winning streak against Cincinnati since 1991, when they took nine in a row.
The Reds are ending another disappointing season in a rut, dropping six straight and 11 of 14. Their loss on Friday was their 94th of the season, matching their total for each of the last two years. They’ve dropped at least 90 games in four straight seasons, one shy of the club record from 1930-34.
Corey Dickerson doubled in the first inning off Anthony DeSclafani (7-8), who completed another injury-shortened season. He missed the first two months with a strained oblique. DeSclafani lost each of his last four starts.
Diaz snapped a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with his 10th homer off DeSclafani, who lasted five innings. Moran added a sacrifice fly, a solo homer and a run-scoring single as the Pirates pulled away.
Nick Kingham gave up Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer , his first since Sept. 10, during his 3 2/3 innings. Steven Brault (6-3) allowed three hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart had a career-high five hits, including a triple, a bunt single and a two-run homer.
KANG RETURNS
Jung Ho Kang had a pinch-hit single in the seventh, his first major-league appearance in two years. The 31-year-old infielder hadn’t played in the majors since September 2016 because of visa issues related to DUI arrests in his native South Korea. Earlier this season, he played in the Pirates’ minor league system before a left wrist injury required surgery. The Pirates decided to add him to the roster for the final series.
“He worked hard to put himself in position to be back before the season ended,” manager Clint Hurdle said.
UP NEXT
Pirates: Jameson Taillon (14-9) has allowed three earned runs or less in his last 21 starts. Since the All-Star break, he’s gone 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 12 starts.
Reds: Michael Lorenzen (3-2) makes his third straight start after pitching in relief in 42 appearances this season, part of the Reds’ experiment to sort out their pitching for next season. In his two starts, Lorenzen has given up four earned runs in eight innings.
