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Roansy Contreras’ Strong Outing Lifts Pirates to 4-2 Win Over Reds

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Backed by a strong outing from Roansy Contreras, the Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Thursday at Great American Ballpark.

The Pirates first hit of the game didn’t come until the fifth inning against Mike Minor, but they made it count. Diego Castillo blasted a hanging changeup 409 feet over the fence in left-center, Castillo’s ninth bomb of the season. The Bucs second baseman had two hits and was on base three times in the game.

The Reds quickly answered with a solo shot off the bat of Donovan Solano to lead off the home half of the fifth inning.

Contreras bounced back to punch out the next three Reds batters as part of his six strong innings of work. It was the first time that Contreras has completed six innings of work as a big leaguer, and he had a strong afternoon on the mound.

Contreras’ final line read six innings, four hits, one earned run, one walk and seven strikeouts. 61 of his 90 pitches went for strikes. He picked up his third win of the season.

After Ke’Bryan Hayes singled and Bryan Reynolds was hit by a pitch, Michael Chavis delivered a two-run double that split the gap in left-center, putting the Bucs up 3-1.

Jason Delay picked up his first big league hit and RBI on a run-scoring, opposite-field double that scored Ben Gamel.

The Reds cut the Pirates lead in half in the eighth inning when Tommy Pham singled home Jonathan India.

David Bednar picked up the save in the ninth to seal the win, his 14th of the season.

The Pirates and Reds will play the second game of the doubleheader at 7:10. Bryse Wilson (1-4, 7.49 ERA) is expected to be on the hill for Pittsburgh. The Reds have yet to announce a starter.

Takeaways 

  • Ro Bounces Back: Contreras’ last outing was the worst of his young career, as he lasted just 1.2 innings and was tagged with seven earned runs on three homers against the Brewers. It was going to be interesting to see how the young right-hander would respond, and he clearly but the rough start behind him. Contreras was in control for most of the afternoon, other than the homer he allowed to Solano. Contreras had strong command of his pitches and often got the Reds batters to chase out of the zone.
  • And So Did The Bucs: It’s always interesting to see how a team will respond following a loss in the manner the Pirates did in Wednesday’s game against the Yankees. This is especially true considering the Bucs had a very quick turnaround after a delayed start in the game followed by an afternoon start in the first game of a doubleheader the following day. Pittsburgh played a clean game to ensure the victory.
  • Homers On The Road: Castillo’s fifth-inning homerun was the ninth of the season for the rookie and his seventh of the season on the road. It’s his fourth homer in his last six contests away from PNC Park, as Castillo recorded two homers in Tampa Bay and one against the Nationals in D.C. on last week’s road trip.

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