Tyler Stephenson had three hits and was a triple shy of the cycle as he drove in five runs as the Cincinnati Reds picked up an 8-3 win to open up their final home series of the year. The victory dropped the Pittsburgh Pirates to 72-82 and guaranteed that they would have a losing campaign in 2024.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates (72-82) |
3 | 9 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (75-80) | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Martinez (10-6) L: Keller (11-11) |
|||
| Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Nick Martinez picked up two strikeouts in the 1st inning. Tyler Stephenson picked up his pitcher by hitting a solo home run to put the Reds up 1-0 in the bottom of the inning.
Two innings later the Cincinnati offense put together a rally to extend their lead. Will Benson and Jonathan India walked to lead off the inning. Elly De La Cruz then singled into center to load the bases for Tyler Stephenson and once again he came through. This time he doubled into the gap and saw all three baserunners score as he wound up on second base with a 3-run hit to but the game open. Stephenson then came in to score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ty France as the Reds made it 5-0.
An inning later the home team went back to it with Jonathan India clobbered a solo home run with one out. Elly De La Cruz then walked and stole second base – giving him 100 steals for his career – and then he scored when Tyler Stephenson came through with another RBI hit. The inning was capped off on a grounder that plated Stephenson and put Cincinnati up 8-0.
In the 6th inning Nick Martinez headed back to the mound with a big lead and he proceeded to strike out the side on 12 pitches. That ended his day and gave him nine strikeouts in his 2-hit performance.
Brent Suter took over for the Reds in the 7th and gave up a leadoff home run to Oneil Cruz. Suter would get help from Will Benson to escape further damage in the inning as Benson fielded a single and threw out Andrew McCutchen at the plate to end the inning and keep the score 8-1.
Alan Busenitz, who was called up from Triple-A earlier in the day, fired a perfect 8th inning. With Cincinnati holding onto a 7-run lead he came back out for the 9th and was looking to seal the win while facing the middle of the Pirates order. It didn’t start out well as he allowed three consecutive singles that brought in a run for Pittsburgh, but Nick Gonzalez grounded into a double play to follow. Rowdy Tellez wasn’t willing to go down without a fight and he singled in another run to make it 8-3. Busenitz would strike out Jared Triolo to end the game as the Reds continued to pick up wins to open up series.
Key Moment of the Game
Tyler Stephenson’s bases clearing double in the 3rd inning.
Notes Worth Noting
Elly De La Cruz had a historic night of sorts. His stolen base gave him 100 for his career. He joins Vince Coleman and Rickey Henderson as one of just three players to reach 100 steals within their first two seasons. With his 100th steal, De La Cruz became the fastest player in history to have both 100 steals and 100 extra-base hits in his career. The previous record was held by Juan Samuel, who was the bench coach for the Dayton Dragons in 2022 when Elly De La Cruz was on the team. He also set the team record for most strikeouts in a season, besting the former record that was held by Drew Stubbs.
Nick Martinez matched a career high with his nine strikeouts. He also had nine strikeouts on June 11th of 2022 against the Colorado Rockies. Martinez faced five fewer hitters in this outing than he did in that one.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds
Saturday September 21st, 1:10pm ET
Jared Jones (6-7, 3.85 ERA) vs Rhett Lowder (1-2, 1.74 ERA)
