Hamilton delivers double in 10th to lift Reds past Pirates
CINCINNATI -- Billy Hamilton's double with two outs in the 10th inning drove home Arismendy Alcantara with the winning run, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night at Great American Ball Park.
In the 10th, Tucker Barnhart walked with one out and pinch runner Alcantara advanced to second on Daniel Hudson's errant pickoff throw to first. Two batters later, Hamilton laced a 2-2 pitch from Hudson (0-1) into right field.
Adam Duvall hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth for Cincinnati, which has won two straight since snapping a four-game losing streak.
Josh Harrison homered twice for Pittsburgh, which has lost four straight to his hometown Reds to begin this season. Harrison tied the score 3-3 with a solo homer off Drew Storen in the eighth inning.
Michael Lorenzen (2-0) struck out three in two scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
Reds starter Amir Garrett bounced back from a 10-run outing his last time out to allow only two hits -- solo home runs by Andrew McCutchen and Harrison. He gave up just the two runs while walking three and fanning four in seven innings.
Pirates starter Gerrit Cole, who was 0-6 with a 5.44 career ERA in eight starts against the Reds, rolled through the first five innings.
However, his luck ran out in the sixth when Duvall crushed his eighth homer of the season on an 0-1 pitch into the left-center field seats to turn a 2-0 Pirates lead into a 3-2 Reds advantage.
Cole was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings.
The Cincinnati sixth inning began with an error by Pirates second baseman Phil Gosselin that allowed Hamilton to reach.
McCutchen put the Pirates ahead 1-0 in the first inning with his fourth home run of the season.
The Reds (12-13) kept the pressure on Cole with a runner reaching third in each of the first two innings, but he stranded three runners.
Garrett walked three in four hitless innings after McCutchen's home run. But Harrison greeted him with a leadoff homer in the sixth on a 3-1 pitch to make the score 2-0.
Harrison's second homer of the night came on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the eighth off Storen to tie the score, resulting in extra innings.
NOTES: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen has 27 career home runs against the Reds, with 17 at Great American Ball Park. ... Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl played catch Monday without any issues and expects to make his next start. Kuhl left his Sunday start in the fifth inning after being hit by a batted ball. ... Pittsburgh recalled C Elias Diaz from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned C John Bormann to Class A Bradenton. ... Reds 3B Scooter Gennett turned 27.