It was a looong game, but the Pirates ultimately bested Homer Bailey and the Cincinnati Reds, riding an offensive outburst to an 8-4 win.
The Reds scored two runs off A.J. Burnett in the bottom of the first, but the Pirates got two of their own in the top of the second. Garrett Jones singled, stole second, moved to third on a grounder, and came home on a single by Casey McGehee. Then Rod Barajas hit into what should have been a double play, but Brandon Phillips delayed the throw to first. The Reds paid for that mistake, as Clint Barmes drove a ball into the gap, and the slow-footed Barajas was able to score all the way from first because Drew Stubbs misplayed it.
Then in the top of the third, the new Alex Presley led off with a triple, and Neil Walker hit a two-run homer to center. Barmes knocked in a two-run, line-drive single later in the inning to put the Pirates up 6-2. Then Casey McGehee homered in the fifth (his first homer as a Pirate), and Presley homered in the sixth.
It seemed like the Reds constantly had runners on base (Pirates pitchers walked seven batters, although they also struck out 15), but they only scored two more runs, one on a Todd Frazier sacrifice fly in the sixth and another on an RBI single by Joey Votto in the ninth. That last run was charged to Juan Cruz, who gave up hits to all three batters he saw. He was replaced by Joel Hanrahan, who whiffed Phillips, Jay Bruce and Chris Heisey to end the threat.
The Bucs are now 28-26.