Pittsburgh Pirates fall to Reds 5-2 in poor start from Gerrit Cole

Gerrit Cole had his worst inning of the year and the Pittsburgh Pirates were not able to overcome it as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Wednesday night. The Reds did damage immediately and that proved to be all they would need to take the second game of the series.

The top of the first was the pivotal inning last night as Cole began by walking Billy Hamilton. He did strike out Ivan De Jesus and Joey Votto, but in the process Hamilton stole second and third. Doubles by Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce along with a two-run home run from Marlon Byrd gave the Reds four quick runs. The Pirates were able to get one back in the bottom of the second with Pedro Alvarez‘s ground out that scored Neil Walker.

The Reds added a fifth run in the fifth inning on Marlon Byrd‘s single that scored Votto. Jared Hughes was brought in to get the final out of the ining and struck out Eugenio Suarez. The Pirates were able to get the run back in the bottom half of the inning when Chris Stewart hit the ball back to Mike Leake and brought in Alvarez. That 5-2 score would hold up for the rest of the game.

The bullpens from both teams successfully kept their opponents off the board after the starters exited. One take away from this loss is how well Chris Volstad pitched in his debut with the Pirates.

What Stood Out

All pitchers are going to have outings when they are not as sharp as normal, and Cole is no exception to that. The fact that it took until the end of June for Cole to give up five runs in a game speaks volumes about the year he is having. He’ll bounce back and will have at least another outing to make his case for the all-star team.

Chris Stewart continues to show that he is a great asset to the team. He may only play once a week or so, but he has done a great job with Cole and also adding something to the lineup. Let’s hope this is the year he hits his ninth career home run!

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