Chances of remaining in contention for a NL Central title took a hit Saturday afternoon for the Pittsburgh Pirates (88-73) with an extra-inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds (75-86). Ramon Santiago hit a grand slam off Bobby LaFramboise to win it 10-6 for the Reds, handing John Axford (2-4) the loss. Dylan Axelrod (2-1) earned the win by pitching a scoreless top of the tenth.
Axford walked the first batter he faced in the home half of the tenth and the bases were loaded before Clint Hurdle brought in LaFramboise with one out to try to clean up the mess. Pinch-hitter Brayan Pena popped out to shallow right field before Santiago hit the game-winner to left field as Starling Marte watched it sail into the seats.
Now, the Pirates must wait and watch the St. Louis Cardinals game tonight in Arizona, which will determine whether or not they remain in contention heading into the regular season’s final day tomorrow. A Cardinals win will clinch the NL Central title and a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It would also ensure that the Pirates must play the San Francisco Giants at home on Wednesday in the National League Wild Card game. The winner of the game will play the top-seeded Washington Nationals.
Cincinnati started the day hot, scoring three first inning runs off Pirates starter Francisco Liriano. A potential fourth run was ruled out on a close play at the plate when Devin Mesoraco was tagged out by catcher Chris Stewart. A Reds replay challenge did not result in the play being overturned, so Liriano escaped with a 3-0 deficit after one. The Pirates chipped away in the second when Jordy Mercer hit an RBI groundout scoring Starling Marte and in the fifth, when Mercer homered. Francisco Liriano would single later in the fifth and score on a two-run single by Neil Walker to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead midway through the contest. It was Liriano’s first career run scored.
The Reds immediately tied the game on a Ryan Ludwick single, scoring Todd Frazier in the bottom of the fifth. Pittsburgh answered right back, scoring twice in the seventh on a single by Andrew McCutchen and a triple by Walker. Frazier, though, hit a two-run home run off John Holdzkom in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game once again. That score held into extra innings until the Reds finished off a Pirates bullpen that gave up six runs in less than five innings of work.
Gerrit Cole (11-5) is the scheduled starter for Sunday against Johnny Cueto (19-9), who will try for his 20th win in the Reds final game of the year. Cole may not start if the Cardinals clinch the division tonight in Phoenix. The regular season finale will begin at 1:10 at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark.
