PITTSBURGH — The Cincinnati Reds went from cellar-dwellers to division contenders in the four months since they last played the Pirates. They showed that transformation on Friday night with a dominant 9-2 win. Cincinnati hit Pirates’ starter Johan Oviedo around, while Reds’ rookie ace Andrew Abbott delivered an excellent performance.
Cincinnati jumped on Oviedo in the first, with infield phenomenon Elly De La Cruz hitting a two-run triple that helped the Redlegs open a 3-0 lead.
Oviedo steadied from there, retiring 10 of the next 11 batters he faced, but he ran into trouble in the fourth, when Reds’ catcher Luke Maile hit a three-run homer to put Cincinnati up 6-0 over Pittsburgh (52-64).
Bryan Reynolds reached on a weak ground ball—ruled a hit—that third baseman Spencer Steer overran in the bottom of the inning, the first base runner Abbott allowed.
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