Reds 2, Pirates 1
CINCINNATI - Jay Bruce's triple in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Brandon Phillips from first base to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
Phillips led off the ninth with a single. Two batters later, Bruce ripped a pitch from Arquimedes Caminero (0-1) to right and Phillips raced home with the winning run.
Ross Ohlendorf (2-0) earned the victory for Cincinnati.
Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez continued his torrid pace at the plate with three hits, including a game-tying homer in the sixth.
Pirates catcher Chris Stewart homered in his first plate appearance of the season and starter Jeff Locke allowed a run over six innings.
Among the key plays in Sunday's game came with the score tied 1-1 with two outs in the eighth when Josh Harrison was thrown out at home by left fielder Adam Duvall attempting to score on John Jaso's single.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle requested a review of collision rule 7.13, but the umpires determined via replay that Devin Mesoraco did not illegally block the plate.
Right-hander Tim Melville made his major-league debut for Cincinnati (5-1) on Sunday.
Hurdle said Melville's walk rate of four per nine innings was brought up during their pregame hitters meetings.
The Pirates (4-2) were patient against the rookie in the first inning, drawing three walks to load the bases. But on Melville's 37-pitch, Harrison grounded into an inning-ending force play.
Cincinnati loaded the bases against Locke in the bottom half but also did not score.
Stewart made the most of his first at-bat of the season with a solo home run with one out in the second to put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0.
Despite a hefty pitch-count, Melville was able to minimize damage by stranding runners at third in each of his four innings finishing with one run and five hits allowed with four walks and five strikeouts.
While Melville was laboring through his first career start, Locke cruised through four innings by giving up five hits.
Duvall doubled to lead off the fifth and advanced to third on right-hander Dan Straily's sacrifice bunt, but Locke retired the next two batters. Straily made his first appearance in a Reds uniform and struck out three over three scoreless innings.
Suarez's solo homer to right-center, his fourth of the season tied the score 1-1 in the sixth.
NOTES: Reds manager Bryan Price said he wouldn't rule out RHP Anthony DeSclafani being ready for his next turn in the rotation but says he's still experiencing tenderness in his hamstring. DeSclafani is due to throw a bullpen on Wednesday in Chicago. ... Pirates C Chris Stewart started behind the plate on Sunday in place of Francisco Cervelli, something manager Clint Hurdle says will often be the case with the volume of day games upcoming. ... The Reds designated 1B Brandon Allen for assignment and selected from Triple-A the contract of RHP Tim Melville, who started Sunday against the Pirates.