Luis Ortiz Tosses Gem, Pirates Hit Pair of Homers to Take Series Over Reds
Luis Ortiz shined in his first start of the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates belted two home runs to take the series with a 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark on Wednesday.
Ortiz (4-2) tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in six strong innings. The right-hander held the Reds (37-43) to one run on four hits and didn’t walk a batter.
The lone blemish against Ortiz came in the third inning when Jonathan India doubled home Stuart Fairchild. Outside of the third inning, the Reds didn’t put a runner in scoring position against Ortiz.
Rowdy Tellez hit the first Pirates’ homer of the game, an opposite solo blast in the top of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie. It was his third home run of the season.
ROWDYYYYY pic.twitter.com/SwsZ36aVDb
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 26, 2024
The following inning, Andrew McCutchen blasted a two-run homer to straight away center field. His 11th of the season extended the lead to 4-1.
422-foot home run … fitting for #22 #VotePirates ➡️ https://t.co/F8oWS9ebkY pic.twitter.com/t0w6eUuEGL
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 26, 2024
Jack Suwinski put the Pirates (39-41) on the board with an RBI single in the second inning.
Jason Delay provided a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning with a two-out two-run double down the third base line. Delay was one of three Pirates with multiple hits, joining Tellez and Connor Joe.
Bryan Reynolds singled in his first at-bat, extending his hitting streak to 23 games.
As a team, the Pirates recorded 10 hits. They combined for 30 hits in the three-game series with 10 hits in all three games.
The Reds recalled Graham Ashcraft (4-4) from Triple-A Louisville to start against the Pirates. He was tagged for six runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings.
Up Next
The Pirates have a day off on Thursday before heading to Atlanta for the start of a three-game series against the Braves on Friday night.
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