(Sports Network) – Lefty Travis Wood can continue a recent string of scoreless
outings tonight when the Cincinnati Reds visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the
middle contest of three weekend games at PNC Park.

A 24-year-old, Wood had appeared in five consecutive games — four relief
outings and one start — since last allowing a run during a 5-3 loss to the
New York Yankees on June 20 in Cincinnati.

He’s 1-0 in his outings since, picking up the win after two-thirds of an
inning of relief against the Pirates during Cincinnati’s 11-8 victory in
Pittsburgh on Aug. 19.

Overall, he’s pitched 10 consecutive shutout innings while allowing five hits
and striking out nine batters.

He’s 2-1 lifetime against the Pirates with a 4.91 earned run average in 11
innings.

In Friday’s opener, pinch-hitter Ryan Ludwick posted the game-winning hit in
the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Pirates to a 4-3 win.

Pinch-hitter Jason Jaramillo ripped a double to left with one out off Reds
reliever Bill Bray (5-3) before Ludwick came through with the walk-off single
to center against Nick Masset, allowing pinch-runner Chase d’Arnaud to easily
score from second.

Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer and Andrew McCutchen finished with two hits
and a run scored for the Pirates, who bounced back after a 2-5 road trip.

Joel Hanrahan (1-4) earned the win despite plunking Todd Frazier to force in
the tying run in the top half of the frame.

“I didn’t have all my good stuff, but I tried to find a way to make it work,”
Hanrahan said. “I think I hit my first guy of the year. This game’s funny.”

Joey Votto picked up an RBI double, while Frazier and Paul Janish had two hits
apiece for the Reds, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

The Pirates start 26-year-old righty Brad Lincoln, who appears for the second
time in his career against the Reds.

Lincoln took a no-decision in the initial outing, tossing two-thirds of an
inning in relief in the aforementioned 11-8 game in which Wood got the
victory.

He’s made six starts since and is 1-3 while allowing 17 runs in 31 innings.

Lincoln is 0-2 in seven home appearances this season.

Pittsburgh is 9-4 versus the Reds this season.

The Sports Network

It’s been seven years since Pittsburgh won as many as 70 games
in a season. The Pirates waited that long; what was one more
half-inning?

Ryan Ludwick’s single in the bottom of the ninth drove in the
winning run and the Pirates came back from a blown save in the top
of the inning for a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday
night.

Ludwick’s fly ball to deep center field fell for a single and
scored pinch-runner Chase d’Arnaud from second after pinch-hitter
Jason Jaramillo had doubled to left with one out.

“It felt like it was what I was supposed to do,” said Ludwick, a
trade-deadline acquisition who was hitting .231 in 34 games with
the Pirates. “It’s been a while since I hit a walk-off, but it felt
good.”

Garrett Jones homered for the first time in more than a month
for Pittsburgh (70-87), which reached 70 wins for the first time
since 2004.

The Pirates had been a strike away from that elusive 70th
victory, but closer Joel Hanrahan hit Todd Frazier in the hand with
a 98 mph fastball, the eighth pitch of a dramatic at-bat with the
bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth.

The blown save was Hanrahan’s fourth in 43 opportunities.

“It was one of those days I didn’t have my good stuff, so you
try to find a way to make it work,” Hanrahan said. “It’s a full
count there, and I think I hit my first guy of the year there.
Baseball’s a funny game.”

Paul Janish had two hits and an RBI and Joey Votto had his 99th
RBI for the Reds.

Ryan Doumit had two hits and an RBI and Andrew McCutchen added
two hits for Pittsburgh, which won for the second in its past seven
games overall and second time in its past seven home games.

Pirates starter Jeff Locke was on a pitch limit and was lifted
after 4 2-3 innings when his 80th pitch became an RBI double by
Votto.

That left two men on, but Daniel Moskos got Jay Bruce to strike
out swinging to end the inning.

“We hit that young man over there pretty hard,” Reds manager
Dusty Baker said about Locke. “We flirted with the fence probably
five or six times.

“We had plenty of opportunities, but we didn’t get the hit when
we needed it.”

Making his third career start, Locke was charged with one run,
six hits and two walks. He lasted only three innings in his most
recent start.

“It’s a process,” the 23-year-old said. “I’m definitely taking
the mound now, the nerves are gone, the composure’s there. I’m
still leaving some pitches up and falling behind some hitters.”

Janish had an RBI single off Chris Leroux in the sixth, but
Chris Resop, Tony Watson and Jason Grilli combined for two
scoreless innings.

Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey started Cincinnati’s ninth with an
infield single and Brandon Phillips followed with a single. After a
fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Phillips and Drew Stubbs pulled
off a double steal. Bruce was intentionally walked and Frazier was
hit by the pitch.

“They didn’t really hit the ball too hard that inning,” Jones
said. “They had some freak things happen, but we were able to help
Joel out. Ryan came up with the big hit.”

Jones homered for the first time since Aug. 21 after Doumit led
off the second with an infield single. Jones’ homer to right-center
off Edinson Volquez was his 16th and traveled an estimated 458
feet.

Doumit made it 3-0 in the second with a run-scoring single.

Making his third start since being recalled after his second
demotion to the minors this season, Volquez, Cincinnati’s opening
day starter, allowed three runs, six hits and two walks while
striking out five in five innings.

“I felt good. We didn’t win, but that’s part of the game,”
Volquez said. “A lot of things happen during a game, but I was
happy to be back out here and pitch some innings.”

Notes: Barring setbacks, LHP Dontrelle Willis will start for the
Reds on Sunday. He has not pitched since Sept. 12 due to a back
injury. … The announced paid crowd of 23,632 pushed Pittsburgh’s
season total to 1,874,283 _ the fourth-largest in club history. …
The previous time Cincinnati’s Saturday starter RHP Travis Wood
faced Pittsburgh, he had the shortest start of his career, 3 1-3
innings in a 9-3 loss April 18. … RHP Brad Lincoln will make his
final start of the season Saturday for the Pirates after allowing
six runs in 1 2-3 innings in his most recent outing.

Dontrelle Willis is healthy and satisfied with the way he’s pitching, even if he isn’t earning any wins.

Willis remained winless in eight starts this season, allowing three runs on eight hits in six innings, and the Cincinnati Reds lost 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Willis remained 0-3 since his promotion from Triple-A Louisville July 10, but he holds a respectable 4.14 ERA and had allowed more than three runs in an outing only once.

“A lot of things dictate wins and losses,” Willis said. “I like the way I’m throwing the ball. I like the way I’m competing and I like the way the guys are competing for me. It’s just a matter of pitch there or one thing there that seems to make the difference in every game.”

Charlie Morton didn’t have his best stuff, but he continued his mastery of Cincinnati with six effective innings. Morton’s ERA is at 0.93 ERA in 29 innings against the Reds this season.

Neil Walker had two RBI singles, the second driving in Andrew McCutchen with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and McCutchen and Ryan Ludwick each had two hits for the Pirates, who have won three of five.

Willis left his previous start on Sunday in the third inning due to soreness in his left forearm. An MRI the next day did not reveal any issues, clearing Willis to start on Saturday.

“We were trying to get him that first victory, big-time,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We stuck with him a long time.”

Walker’s hit off Aroldis Chapman (2-1) was his third hit of the game, and Brandon Wood followed with an RBI double, allowing Pittsburgh to improve to 8-3 against the Reds this season.

“They kind of bled Chapman there,” Baker said of the Pirates. “They got a couple of soft hits, especially the little blooper to right (by Walker).”

Joey Votto twice drove in Brandon Phillips with RBI singles for the Reds, who have lost four of six. Phillips reached base four times.

Recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day, rookie Tony Watson (1-2) won his first major league game by getting the final two outs of the top of the seventh after the Reds had tied it at 3 against Chris Resop.

“He gave us what we needed in a tight spot, definitely,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of Watson, who woke up at 6 this morning and drove five hours to Pittsburgh.

“A day I’ll never forget,” Watson said.

Pittsburgh’s Jose Veras pitched a scoreless eighth — striking out Drew Stubbs and Dave Sappelt after allowing the first two batters of the inning to reach. A day after allowing a season-high three runs in taking the loss, Joel Hanrahan worked a perfect the ninth for his 31st save but first since July 28.

Morton had a scoreless innings streak of 24 snapped in the final inning of his most recent outing on Sunday when Hanrahan allowed an inherited runner to score.

Morton allowed a run for the second consecutive inning when Phillips led off Saturday’s game with a single, moved to second on a groundout and came home when Votto singled to right.

But Morton faced only one over the minimum over the next 4 2-3 innings before Phillips and Votto each singled again to produce a run in the sixth. Morton was charged with two runs on seven hits, a walk and two strikeouts. He has allowed three runs in four starts versus the Reds this season.

“Successes breeds confidence,” Hurdle said. “He went out there against that team today with far from his best stuff, but delivered a very gutsy performance, a very gritty performance and held them to two runs in six innings.

“He seems to enjoy the challenge of facing that offense,” Hurdle said. “It’s a very good offense.”

RBI singles by Ronny Cedeno in the fourth and Ryan Ludwick and Walker — consecutively in the fifth — gave Pittsburgh the lead, and Morton was in line to improve to 4-0 against Cincinnati this season after he was lifted following six innings.

But the Reds quickly tied the game against Resop when Ramon Hernandez doubled in Stubbs.

NOTES: Willis went 0 for 2, snapping his six-game hitting streak. He had a hit in every game in which he had an at-bat this season. … Not counting the 2006 All-Star game, the game was the first televised by Fox at PNC Park since 2004. … The crowd of 37,826 was Pittsburgh’s 16th sellout of the season, most since 2001. It was the eighth consecutive Saturday sellout there. … Reds Sunday starter Mike Leake has allowed only seven earned runs in five career starts against Pittsburgh. No current Pirates players have homered off of him. … The previous time Pirates RHP James McDonald faced Cincinnati on July 19, he pitched into the seventh and was part of a combined shutout. McDonald starts Sunday. … Hurdle said RHP Brad Lincoln would start the second game of a doublehader on Monday vs. Milwaukee. He also indicated that RHP Ross Ohlendorf would be recalled to start Tuesday’s game.

PITTSBURGH – Joey Votto hit his 21st homer of the season and later scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-8 on Friday night.

Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs for Cincinnati, which let a four-run lead slip away. Ryan Hanigan added a solo shot and drove in two insurance runs in the ninth as the Reds beat the Pirates for just the third time in 10 tries this season.

Travis Wood (6-5) picked up the win in relief, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth when center fielder Drew Stubbs threw out Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, who attempted to score from third on a shallow fly by Ryan Ludwick. Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect ninth inning to collect his 25th save.

Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan (0-2) took the loss, giving up three runs while getting just one out in the ninth after entering with the score tied.

Brandon Wood broke out of a lengthy slump, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs for Pittsburgh. McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Jose Tabata and Ronny Cedeno also had two hits apiece for the Pirates but Pittsburgh ran itself out of a chance to take the lead in the eighth and Cincinnati made them pay for it in the ninth.

Hanrahan, in the midst of a dominant year, issued a rare leadoff walk to Votto to start the inning. Votto moved to third on a one-out single by Dave Sappelt. Stubbs followed with a chopper to second. Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker tried to get Votto at the plate but the ball deflected off catcher Ryan Doumit’s glove. Votto slapped the plate for emphasis and Sappelt and Stubbs both moved up a base as the ball rolled to the backstop.

Hanigan followed with a sharp single up the middle to provide the final margin and chase Hanrahan, who stalked to the dugout after the worst outing of his All-Star season.

Cincinnati’s late surge spoiled a furious rally by the Pirates, who trailed 6-2 after Phillips drilled a three-run homer to left in the fifth.

Pittsburgh started chopping away after manager Clint Hurdle was ejected for the third time this season for arguing with home plate umpire Brian Knight moments after Jones was called out on strikes.

Hurdle, who was well out of eyesight in the dugout when Knight tossed him, appeared to be a little stunned by the early exit. He walked onto the field and engaged in an animated discussion with Knight before crew chief Jerry Layne came in to calm things down.

Hurdle’s passionate plea seemed to spark his club as the Pirates slowly got back in it as Cincinnati’s bullpen faltered following starter Homer Bailey.

Bailey gave up three runs and six hits in five innings, walking three and striking out six. He needed 96 pitches to get 15 outs but the Reds appeared to have things well in hand with a 6-3 lead.

Pittsburgh, however, kept chipping away but got too greedy in the eighth.

The Pirates eventually tied the game at 8-all on a single by McCutchen off Cincinnati’s Nick Masset. Jones, not exactly the fleetest runner, was out by a good 10 feet trying to score from second on the play. Pittsburgh kept the pressure on, however, loading the bases with one out.

Wood came on and induced Ludwick to hit a fly ball to shallow center that Stubbs ran down and his perfect throw to Hanigan at the plate easily beat the speedy McCutchen to keep the score tied and give Cincinnati the boost it needed to put the Pirates away.

Pittsburgh’s rally allowed Kevin Correia to avoid picking up his first-ever loss against the Reds as a starter. Still, he was far from sharp, giving up six runs and eight hits — including three home runs — in six innings, walking one and striking out one to continue his Jekyll-and-Hyde season.

Correia is among the best starters in the baseball on the road. His 10 victories away from home lead the majors.

Things don’t go quite so well when he starts the day waking up in his own bed. His ERA rose to 7.75 in his 12 games on the hill at the quirky ballpark along the Allegheny River.

NOTES: The game started after a 41-minute rain delay. … Wood snapped an 0-for-18 slump with a single to lead off the sixth. … The series continues on Saturday. Charlie Morton (9-6, 3.43 ERA) gets the start for Pittsburgh. Morton is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA against the Reds this year. Dontrelle Willis (0-3, 4.08) starts for the Reds. Willis left his last start against San Diego with a sore left forearm but was OK’d to pitch after an MRI revealed no significant injury.

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All the good memories of an overachieving Pittsburgh Pirates team are quickly being erased by an awful second-half stretch.

Kyle Blanks hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the San Diego Padres sent Pittsburgh to its ninth straight loss, 13-2 on Saturday.

Last in the National League in runs and homers, San Diego set a club record for runs in consecutive games with 28, team said in citing the Elias Sports Bureau. The Padres hit a grand slam in consecutive games for the first time in 20 years.

“We talk about contagious, and you see that happening a little bit the last couple of nights,” San Diego manager Bud Black said. “There’s a feeling amongst the lineup that they are going to give a good at bat and the result is going to be there.”

There was an opposite feeling in the other dugout. The Pirates were in first place on July 26, but have dropped 11 of 12 while plummeting out of the NL Central lead. Pittsburgh fell nine games behind division-leading Milwaukee, prompting a players-only team meeting after the game.

“We’ve got to get back to the attitude we had at the beginning of the season,” outfielder Garrett Jones said. “Get our mindset back to where it was. Get that swagger —that was the word we were using — and that attitude of ‘We’re gonna win every game.’”

Elsewhere in the National League it was: Chicago Cubs 11, Cincinnati 4; Philadelphia 2, San Francisco 1; Milwaukee 7, Houston 5; New York Mets 11, Atlanta 7; St. Louis 2, Florida 1; Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Arizona 3; Colorado 15, Washington 7.

At Pittsburgh, fans at PNC Park booed as the game got out of hand, leaving the Pirates at 0-6 on their homestand. Blanks’ slam off Chris Resop in the seventh inning made it 11-1.

Saddled with a major North American professional sports record 18 consecutive losing years, the Pirates were as many as seven games over .500 in July. But the team’s sudden slump has been just as stunning as its ascension to respectability after losing 105 games in 2010.

“Losing nine is no fun for anybody. But nobody’s holding a pity party for us,” losing pitcher Paul Maholm said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are having fun with the fact we’re losing, but we’re just going to get over it and come back tomorrow and expect to win.”

San Diego has pounded Pirates pitching for five home runs in winning the first two games of the series and have won three in a row overall.

The Padres had not hit a grand slam this season until Chase Headley did it Friday night. After hitting his first homer the day before, Blanks’ shot Saturday marked the first time San Diego had hit slams on consecutive days since Aug. 13-14, 1991, when Fred McGriff had both. Cleveland was the most recent team to do it, Sept. 17-18 of last season.

“I feel like the last couple of days before we came on the road I was making some strides in the cage, figuring out some things and applying them in the game,” Blanks said. “Now the results do start to matter, and I feel good. I had a couple of good nights in a row, and I just want to continue.”

Rookie Cory Luebke (4-6) struck out a career-high nine and allowed one run over seven innings. He also had two hits and scored a run to help the Padres win their eighth straight game in Pittsburgh.

Orlando Hudson had three hits and scored the game’s first run on Blanks’ triple in the second. Rob Johnson had three RBIs for San Diego, which had scored a total of 28 runs over its eight previous games before this series.

Luebke came in having lost his previous three starts. He allowed five hits and no walks.

“We got ahead tonight,” Luebke said, “and with me and (Johnson) on the same page all night, when you get that kind of flow with your catcher, it just makes things easier for everybody.”

Maholm (6-12) gave up a season-high seven earned runs and tied a season high for hits allowed with 10. Pittsburgh has lost each of his five starts since the all-star break.

Jones had a solo home run for the Pirates in the eighth, his 13th and third of the homestand.

Philadelphia 2, San Francisco 1

At San Francisco, Cole Hamels pitched a seven-hitter for his first win in two weeks and the Philadelphia Phillies made a pair of first-inning runs hold up, extending their season-high winning streak to nine games.

Brewers 7, Astros 5

At Houston, Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer in the first inning and later doubled and singled as the Milwaukee Brewers won for the 10th time in 11 games by beating the Astros.

At Miami, Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning, then Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis bullpen made it stand up in a win over the Florida Marlins.

At Chicago, Carlos Zambrano hit his 23rd career home run and pitched six solid innings, and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds for their seventh straight win.

At Phoenix, Nathan Eovaldi pitched five solid innings in his major league debut and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

At Denver, Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta each homered in a five-run fourth inning, Jhoulys Chacin won for the first time in seven weeks and a Colorado team shaken by the loss of rookie pitcher Juan Nicasio to a neck injury beat the Washington Nationals.

At New York, Justin Turner homered twice and the Mets stopped a five-game losing streak with a victory over the Atlanta Braves.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Johnny Cueto gave up one run over six innings and the Cincinnati Reds ended two games of offensive futility in a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Chris Heisey and Jay Bruce had two hits apiece for the Reds, who won for just the second time in nine games this season against the Pirates.

Cueto (6-3) struck out four and walked three to shave his ERA to 1.98 and four Cincinnati relievers made the lead stand up. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth to pick up his 19th save.

Pittsburgh’s Jeff Karstens (8-5) needed just 76 pitches to get through seven innings, but fell to 1-5 in day games due in part to a pair of errors by shortstop Chase d’Arnaud that opened the door for two Cincinnati runs.

Karstens allowed three runs, one earned on seven hits, walking one and striking out one as his ERA dropped to 2.28, third-best in the National League.

Cincinnati went down meekly in a pair of shutout losses to open the series, leaving 18 runners on base in the process.

Manager Dusty Baker maintained all it would take was a single hit for the Reds to get kick-started. In reality, it was a pair of misplays by d’Arnaud, a rookie who has won Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle over with his toughness but remains inconsistent defensively.

D’Arnaud made a pair of huge plays in a 2-0 win Monday. His diving stop in the hole got Pittsburgh out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning and his first-to-third sprint in the fourth opened the door for a pair of Pittsburgh runs.

The 24-year-old sat out Tuesday’s 1-0 victory as a precaution. He didn’t exactly look comfortable upon his return. Heisey led off the game with a routine grounder that d’Arnaud threw into the stands. Heisey would later score on a sacrifice fly from Joey Votto to end Cincinnati’s longest scoreless streak in over a year.

Miguel Cairo’s sacrifice fly in the second put Cincinnati up 2-0 and, after Andrew McCutchen’s double cut the lead to one, another d’Arnaud mistake gave the Reds some breathing room. He had trouble coming up with a two-out grounder by Cueto, extending the inning. Heisey followed with a single and the pitcher came home on a single by Edgar Renteria.

It was more than enough for Cueto, who has been the NL’s best pitcher since making his season debut on May 8. He’s now made 11 straight quality starts, the longest streak by a Reds pitcher since Bronson Arroyo put together 13 in 2009.

The Pirates, who woke up in first-place in the NL Central for the second straight day, did little to break Cueto’s rhythm. Hurdle stressed the importance of trying to extend at-bats against Cueto, but they found little punch.

Pittsburgh’s only real threat came in the fourth when Neil Walker was hit by a pitch and McCutchen doubled him home. Cueto worked his way out of the jam and Pittsburgh didn’t get a runner to third the rest of the day thanks to stellar work from the bullpen.

Logan Ondrusek wiggled Cincinnati out of a two-on situation in the seventh, Aroldis Chapman overpowered two Pittsburgh batters in the eighth and the Pirates went down in order in the ninth against Cordero.

Notes: Walker went hitless to three at-bats to end his 13-game hitting streak. … Cincinnati 2B Brandon Phillips was given the day off by Baker, who felt Phillips needed a breather following last week’s trip to the All-Star game. … Pittsburgh LF Jose Tabata was removed from a rehab start in Bradenton due to tightness in his left quadriceps.