Bucs lose to Reds 3-2

BD Commentariat member Thunder summed up the Pirates’ 3-2 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park this afternoon as only Bucs fans can:

At least this game was somewhat competitive

Let’s face it, the Bucs got slammed this series—before this game, the Reds had scored 28 runs to the Bucs’ 7. If you don’t have the bats, you need to have the arm, and young Bryse Wilson, in his second start as a Pirate, was ready for the challenge.

In the first three innings, he seemed to be rising to it, only giving up a single and striking out the side in the second. The Pirates’ bats stirred in the top of the fourth, with Bryan Reynolds doubling and advancing on a Colin Moran sac fly. Anthony Alford hit what should have been an easy groundout by Eduardo Suarez, but Suarez’s booting of said groundout turned it into a single that brought B-Rey home to give the Bucs the early lead.

But the top must become the bottom. Jesse Winker bounced a ball into the stands for a ground-rule double, followed by Nick Castellanos doubling as well. Joey Votto singled sharply, a drive Reynolds damn near caught (I know, almost, horseshoes, hand grenades, yadda yadda yadda) but ended up tying the game. Tyler Stephenson’s forceout scored Castellanos, and Kyle Farmer’s double carried on the theme of the inning and got Stephenson across the plate to make it 3-1. Ke’Bryan Hayes took a Tyler Mahle four-seamer to deep center in the top of the sixth to pull the Bucs to within one, but that would prove to be the last offensive gasp for the Pirates.

Wilson’s line was decent: six innings, six hits, three runs (all earned), one walk, and seven strikeouts. Mahle’s line, however, was better—one more inning, one less run, three more Ks.

“Two bad pitches, that hurt me,” Wilson said in the post-game presser.

My take: