Francisco Liriano strikes out 11, but Pirates lose 2-0

The Pirates had 10 hits but couldn't score even once as they were defeated by the Reds Saturday night, 2-0.

That wasted a tremendous outing by Francisco Liriano, who struck out 11 batters and walked one over six innings, but allowed a tapper by Brandon Phillips with Zack Cozart on second with two outs in the fourth inning. Liriano beat Phillips to first, but Bob Davidson blew the call and said Phillips was safe. There was a millisecond where Liriano looked to Davidson hoping to get the call, and Cozart came all the way home from second. Liriano otherwise was dominant, at one point striking out seven straight batters with an array of changeups and sliders.

The Reds got another run on a weak ground ball by Joey Votto off Tony Watson in the eighth.

The Pirates, meanwhile, put two runners on in five separate innings. It's just bad luck that they didn't score, although it's also fair to note that they had no extra-base hits.