In the opener of a three-game series that will determine which team hosts Tuesday’s National League Wild Card one-game playoff, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, 4-1, behind a strong outing from A.J. Burnett.
Burnett, now 10-11 on the season, has often suffered from a lack of offensive support, but the Pirates jumped to an early 2-0 lead when Marlon Byrd singled with the bases loaded in the third inning off of Homer Bailey (11-12). Todd Frazier provided the only Reds run with a solo home run off the left field foul pole in the bottom of the fourth, but Marlon Byrd appeared to match that when he led off the sixth with a shot to deep left center. The ball bounced off the yellow line at the top of the wall and came back into play, and was originally ruled a double by the second base umpire. After a brief review, during which Byrd playfully did a few push-ups by the base, the call stood. Byrd, however, did not stay there long, as Pedro Alvarez launched a home run to deep center, estimated at 443 feet. His 35th of the season (one behind Paul Goldschmidt for most in the NL) gave Burnett and the Pirates a 4-1 lead.
Burnett breezed through eight innings, throwing just 99 pitches and allowing the one run on five hits and one walk. He struck out six. Appearing frustrated with manager Clint Hurdle’s decision to remove him after eight innings, the veteran sat alone on the dugout bench for a few minutes before eventually shaking hands and receiving a few hugs from coaches and teammates. Jason Grilli allowed a single to Joey Votto to lead off the ninth, but that was erased on a 6-4-3 double play hit into by Brandon Phillips. Jay Bruce grounded out softly to Justin Morneau at first base to end the game. The Pirates (92-68) are now two games ahead of Cincinnati with two still to play, and can clinch a home playoff game Tuesday with a win either Saturday or Sunday. Losses on both of those days would allow Cincinnati to stay home and host the Pirates on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals entered the evening with an opportunity to clinch the NL Central division by winning any of their three games this weekend against the Chicago Cubs.
The Pirates are now 9-8 in 2013 vs. Cincinnati. Saturday’s game, which was moved from an evening start to a 1:05 first pitch, will feature starters Charlie Morton (7-4) and former Pirate Bronson Arroyo (14-11). Root Sports is not able to televise the game because there were already plans to broadcast the Pittsburgh Panthers football game, but FOX is featuring the game as one of three regional coverage games
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