National League Game Summary - Pittsburgh At Cincinnati
POSTED: 4:15 am EDT July 3,
2008
Cincinnati, OH -- (Sports Network) - Xavier Nady belted a pair of home runs and finished with three hits and three RBI to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds, 9-5, in the rubber match of three-game set at Great American Ball Park. Jose Bautista also homered for the Pirates, who won their second straight game and earned their sixth victory in nine encounters with the Reds this season. Jay Bruce blasted two homers and collected four RBI for the Reds, who have dropped two straight on the heels of a three-game win streak. The game was tied at five, but the Pirates scored two runs in the fifth on a two-run homer by Nady and led the rest of the way. Ryan Doumit came around on Nady's 12th home run of the year after reaching on a one-out single. In the longest relief outing of his career, Denny Bautista (1-0) earned the win after tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in which he only yielded one hit and one walk while striking out two. Bautista has not allowed a run in three appearances since coming over from Detroit. Right-hander Daryl Thompson (0-2) suffered the defeat in the third start of his major-league career. Thompson surrendered seven runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts in just 4 1/3 innings. The Pirates pushed their edge to 8-5 in the seventh as Doumit was hit by a pitch and scored two batters later thanks to an Adam LaRoche triple to right. Jose Bautista capped off the scoring with a solo home run to center in the ninth. The Pirates jumped on the scoreboard right away with four runs in the top of the first. Back-to-back doubles by Nate McLouth and Luis Rivas accounted for the first run, while Rivas crossed the plate one batter later via Jason Bay's RBI single. Bay moved to third on consecutive singles by Doumit and Nady before scoring on a groundout by LaRoche. One batter later, Doumit scored courtesy of a Jose Bautista groundout. In the bottom of the frame the Reds got one back on a lead-off homer to right by Bruce. The Reds jumped out to a 5-4 lead with a four-run second. Adam Dunn led off with his 21st home run of the year, and with two outs and two men on base, Bruce hit a three-run shot, his second homer of the game. With one out and the bases empty, Nady tied the game at five with his 11th home run of the year for Pittsburgh. Former first-round draft pick John Van Benschoten was rocked in his first start since a recent call-up from the minors. In his first career start versus the Reds, Van Benschoten was tagged for five earned runs on five hits in only 2 1/3 innings.Game Notes:Before the game, the Pirates put closer Matt Capps on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder. The 23-year-old is expected to miss eight weeks...It was the fifth multi-homer day for Nady in his career...It was the second triple of the season for LaRoche...The Pirates now have five players with 10 or more home runs.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.










