05-06-2012, 02:44 AM
PITTSBURGH - Mike Leake threw his best game of the season. Unfortunately for him, the good start included two bad pitches. Neil Walker hit one out for a two-run home run, Alex Presley hit the other out for a solo shot.
That was enough to saddle Leake with his fourth straight loss as the Reds fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 before a crowd of 33,019 at PNC Park Saturday night.
⢠Box score
⢠John Fay's Reds blog
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⢠More news from Redleg Nation
The Reds are back to .500 at 13-13.
Leake went seven innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out four. He had allowed 13 earned runs on 22 hits over 15 2/3 innings in his previous three starts.
Leake did not allow a hit until Jose Tabata doubled with two outs in the third. Two pitches later, Walker absolutely crushed one to straightaway right. It cleared the seats completely. Walkerâs first of the year gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Joey Votto led off the fourth with a liner down the left field line. Votto clearly thought the ball was slicing foul. He had his back turned to the field when the ball hit on the line. He didnât start running until the bench got his attention. Luckily for Votto, the ball bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double. Votto went to third on Brandon Phillipsâ groundout.
Jay Bruce followed with a shot to first baseman Casey McGehee. He fielded it, stepped on the bag and threw home. Catcher Rod Barajas took the throw and turned to tag Votto as he slid in. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa called him out. Votto and Dusty Baker argued briefly.
Replays showed they had a beef.
Leake retired seven of eight after the home run before getting into a first-and-second, one-out jam in the sixth. He got out of it with a strikeout of McGehee and a Garrett Jones flyout.
The Reds were getting base runners against right-hander James McDonald, but the Pirates defense kept them from converting. Pittsburgh turned double plays in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Votto smoked a ball to left in the sixth with Drew Stubbs on first but Tabata made a great running catch to rob Votto and save a run.
The Reds finally broke through in the seventh. Bruce hit a line drive to center that Andrew McCutchen tried to picked off the grass. It got by him for a triple. Scott Rolen followed with an RBI single.
That was it for McDonald. He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
Juan Cruz replaced McDonald. Ryan Ludwick hit the first pitch Cruz threw to deep center. Rolen tried to advance to second on the flyout. McCutchen easily threw him out.
Alex Presley, who entered in a double switch when Cruz came in, hit one out to right to make it 3-1.
The Reds came right back in the eighth. Devin Mesoraco led off with a single to right. An out later, Zack Cozart doubled into the left field corner. Mesoraco scored easily. After Stubbs struck out, the Pirates intentionally walked Votto. But Jason Grilli struck out Phillips on four pitches.http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds
That was enough to saddle Leake with his fourth straight loss as the Reds fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 before a crowd of 33,019 at PNC Park Saturday night.
⢠Box score
⢠John Fay's Reds blog
⢠Follow John Fay on Twitter
⢠More news from Redleg Nation
The Reds are back to .500 at 13-13.
Leake went seven innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out four. He had allowed 13 earned runs on 22 hits over 15 2/3 innings in his previous three starts.
Leake did not allow a hit until Jose Tabata doubled with two outs in the third. Two pitches later, Walker absolutely crushed one to straightaway right. It cleared the seats completely. Walkerâs first of the year gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Joey Votto led off the fourth with a liner down the left field line. Votto clearly thought the ball was slicing foul. He had his back turned to the field when the ball hit on the line. He didnât start running until the bench got his attention. Luckily for Votto, the ball bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double. Votto went to third on Brandon Phillipsâ groundout.
Jay Bruce followed with a shot to first baseman Casey McGehee. He fielded it, stepped on the bag and threw home. Catcher Rod Barajas took the throw and turned to tag Votto as he slid in. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa called him out. Votto and Dusty Baker argued briefly.
Replays showed they had a beef.
Leake retired seven of eight after the home run before getting into a first-and-second, one-out jam in the sixth. He got out of it with a strikeout of McGehee and a Garrett Jones flyout.
The Reds were getting base runners against right-hander James McDonald, but the Pirates defense kept them from converting. Pittsburgh turned double plays in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Votto smoked a ball to left in the sixth with Drew Stubbs on first but Tabata made a great running catch to rob Votto and save a run.
The Reds finally broke through in the seventh. Bruce hit a line drive to center that Andrew McCutchen tried to picked off the grass. It got by him for a triple. Scott Rolen followed with an RBI single.
That was it for McDonald. He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
Juan Cruz replaced McDonald. Ryan Ludwick hit the first pitch Cruz threw to deep center. Rolen tried to advance to second on the flyout. McCutchen easily threw him out.
Alex Presley, who entered in a double switch when Cruz came in, hit one out to right to make it 3-1.
The Reds came right back in the eighth. Devin Mesoraco led off with a single to right. An out later, Zack Cozart doubled into the left field corner. Mesoraco scored easily. After Stubbs struck out, the Pirates intentionally walked Votto. But Jason Grilli struck out Phillips on four pitches.http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds