Reds 3, Pirates 2
CINCINNATI -- Joey Votto hit a game-tying home run in the sixth and catcher Tucker Barnhart added a go-ahead solo shot in the seventh as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Zack Cozart also homered, and Billy Hamilton had three hits for Cincinnati (14-19).
Pittsburgh left-hander Jonathon Niese allowed three home runs. The Pirates (17-15) collected five hits, including two each by Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte.
Reds starter Dan Straily cruised through five innings on 72 pitches. But, he ran into some trouble in the sixth when the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs.
Francisco Cervelli's sacrifice fly to deep center tied the score 1-1. Another run scored on a ground ball, putting the Bucs ahead 2-1.
Votto took Niese out to the opposite field with one out in the sixth for his fifth homer to tie the score 2-2. That homer got Straily off the hook after he gave up only two runs and four hits over six innings.
Barnhart's homer on the first pitch from Niese put Cincinnati back ahead 3-2. The ball barely cleared the left-field wall and required a short video review to determine if there was fan interference.
It was the first homer for the Reds catcher in 270 at-bats, ending the seventh-longest active homer drought in baseball. It also was his first round-tripper as a right-hander batter.
Barnhart's homer put the game in the hands of the much-maligned Cincinnati bullpen, which owned a 6.59 ERA coming in and had allowed at least one run in 25 of the past 26 games.
Cincinnati missed a scoring chance in the eighth when Eugenio Suarez lined into an inning-ending double play.
The Pirates nearly made them pay in the ninth when Jung Ho Kang doubled against lefty Tony Cingrani to begin the inning and advanced to third with one out.
But, Jordy Mercer was retired on a hard grounder against the drawn-in infield and pinch-hitter David Freese flew to deep center to end it.
It was the second career save for Cingrani.
Cozart hit a solo home run leading off the bottom of the first, his fourth of the season and the sixth leadoff homer of his career, to put Cincinnati ahead 1-0.
Niese, who was facing the Reds for the first time this season, hit a batter and allowed a homer and a single in the first, but a double-play grounder prevented further damage.
Straily gave up only two hits through four innings. Pittsburgh left four runners on through five innings.
NOTES: The Reds recalled RHP Layne Somsen on Monday and are going with an eight-man bullpen in an attempt to alleviate their struggles. ... To make room on the roster for Somsen, OF Kyle Waldrop was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. ... Injuries aren't helping Cincinnati's rebuilding efforts with 30 players making 47 appearances on the disabled list the past three seasons. Eight Reds currently are on the DL. ...Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen's 25 home runs against the Reds are tied for third-most with Ryan Braun and Albert Pujols.