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Home runs by Rodolfo Castro, Oneil Cruz help Pirates complete 4-game sweep of Reds

Justin Guerriero
| Wednesday, September 14, 2022 3:44 p.m.
AP
The Pirates’ Roansy Contreras throws during the first inning against the Reds on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Cincinnati.

The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates swept a four-game series in Cincinnati was July 1991.

On Wednesday at Great American Ball Park, fresh off two wins in Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Pirates rode home runs by Rodolfo Castro and Oneil Cruz to a 10-4 victory in the series finale.

“I was really proud of our group because we played a full 36 innings,” manager Derek Shelton said during the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “When do you that, you give yourself a chance to win games.”

Castro launched a three-run shot, his ninth of the year, in the third inning, and Cruz hit a two-run homer in the eighth for his 15th homer.

Rookie Roansy Contreras started for the Pirates and pitched four innings, allowing one run and three hits before he was replaced by Tyler Beede heading into the fifth inning, a move made by Shelton to monitor the late-season workload of Contreras.

He struck out three, throwing 34 of 55 pitches for strikes.

Contreras exited with a lead but did not qualify for a win since he didn’t last five innings.

“We went into the game knowing that he was going to be four (innings) and 60 (pitches) only,” Shelton said. “ …We want him to finish the year in the rotation. We want him to finish the year starting games, and because of that, there’s going to be some times where he gets shortened up.”

Beede (2-5) recorded the win after pitching two innings. He allowed three hits, including a solo home run to Austin Romine in the fifth.

Reds starter Nick Lodolo lasted 6 1/3 innings, striking out 11 and walking none. The big blow was Castro’s three-run homer in the third inning. After Tyler Heineman and Bryan Reynolds singled, Castro crushed a 2-2 curveball to left-center, putting the Pirates ahead 3-1.

The switch-hitting Castro, whose homer came from the right side, added a fourth RBI in the ninth. Hitting from the left side, he scorched a single between the first and second basemen.

The Reds got on the board first, scoring in the second when Spencer Steer’s plated Aristides Aquino, who had hit a one-out double off Contreras.

The Pirates made it 4-2 in the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Ke’Bryan Hayes.

With two outs in the eighth, Cruz smacked an opposite-field homer an estimated 398 feet, pushing the lead to 6-2.

The Reds made it 6-3 in the bottom of the innings when Kyle Farmer homered off Miguel Yajure.

Michael Chavis hit a two-run single in the ninth and later scored on an error.

“Hitting’s contagious,” Hayes said. “Whenever guys are having good at-bats, that’s kind of just how it works. Just keep the lineup moving, get the next guy up there and try not to do too much. This ballpark, the ball flies a little bit better than most.”

The Pirates’ 1-3 hitters, Hayes, Reynolds and Castro, went a combined 7 for 15 with four runs.

The Pirates open another four-game road series Thursday against the New York Mets.


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