Pirates Clinch 28th Losing Season in Last 32 Years With Loss to Reds

Mitch Keller’s second-half struggles continued as the Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated 8-3 by the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark on Friday night.

The loss ensured the Pirates’ 28th losing season since winning their last division title in 1992 and their sixth sub-.500 season in a row. 

Recap

Keller (11-11) tied a career-high by getting tagged for eight earned runs in just 3.1 innings pitched. The right-hander’s stuff wasn’t nearly as sharp as it has been for much of the season and walked five batters to go along with seven hits.

Tyler Stephenson connected on a solo home run to center in the top of the first inning. Two innings later, Stephenson ripped a bases-clearing double to put the Reds (75-80) up 4-0.

Ty France tacked on a run later in the third with a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Stephenson.

Keller’s struggles continued in the fourth when Jonathan India hit a long home run to left. Two  batters later, Stephenson added his fifth RBI of the game with an RBI-single to right. 

Joey Wentz relieved Keller and got TJ Friedl to bounce into a fielder’s choice but another run came home. 

The Pirates (72-82) were silenced by Reds starter Nick Martinez but Oneil Cruz prevented a shutout-loss with a solo home run off of left-hander Brent Suter in the seventh. Cruz finished the game 2 for 4.

Cruz joined the 20 home run/20 stolen base club with his 20th home run of the season to go along with 22 stolen bases.

Joey Bart and Rowdy Tellez each singled home a run in the ninth.

Key Moment

Stephenson’s bases-clearing double off of Keller. There was no hope for the Pirates after that. 

2 XBH, 4 RBI… solid start to the evening, Ty. pic.twitter.com/Ldvk2psSH6

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 20, 2024

Star of the Game

Martinez (10-6) blanked the Pirates across six innings on a pair of singles. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out a season-high nine batters. Martinez has a 2.60 ERA over his last 10 starts. 

Stat to Know

The Pirates’ franchise record through the 1992 season was 8,576-8,061. Since then, the Pirates have gone 2,248-2,754, dropping their all-time record to just 20 games over .500 at 10,835-10,815. 

Noteworthy

• Keller’s second-half ERA resides at 5.68 since the All-Star break (37er/58.2ip). 
• Isaac Mattson made his Pirates’ debut after being selected on Thursday and threw two-scoreless innings. It was the first time the 29-year-old pitched in the big leagues since 2021.

Up Next

Rookie Jared Jones (6-7, 3.85 ERA) will start for the Pirates in the middle game of the series on Saturday afternoon. Fellow rookie Rhett Lowder (1-2, 1.74 ERA) will start for the Reds. First pitch: 1:10 ET.