Reds 5 - 4 Pirates
Final/13
  for this game

Phillips leads Reds over Pirates in extras

Jun 26, 2015 - 5:02 AM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Phillips belted the go-ahead homer off Rob Scahill in the 13th inning to boost the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Phillips, who went 3-for-7 with two RBI, made a sparkling defensive play that started a double play in the eighth inning. He led off the 13th by sending a 2-1 fastball from Scahill (2-4) over the wall in left field.

Todd Frazier went 3-for-6 with a two-run homer and three RBI for the Reds, who banged out 17 hits and beat the Pirates for the ninth time in the last 11 meetings.

The rubber match of this three-game series, which was delayed 56 minutes at the start by rain, didn't end until nearly 12:45 a.m. ET.

"It was great. There were opportunities by both teams to put that one to bed and neither one could take advantage," Reds manager Bryan Price said.

Pedro Villarreal (1-2), who notched his first major league win, gave up a double to Andrew McCutchen off the wall in left to start the bottom of the 12th. Neil Walker was intentionally walked, but he was caught off base on a double play when Jung-Ho Kang lined out. Francisco Cervelli grounded into a force play to end the 12th.

Villarreal retired the side in order in the 13th to send the Pirates to their fifth loss in six games. Cincinnati won for the sixth time in eight contests.

Cincinnati's Anthony DeSclafani and Pittsburgh's A.J. Burnett each lasted six innings in the start. Burnett had a two-run single.

"He went out there and competed really well again. The pitch count was up early, but he settled in and got a handful of punchouts," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Burnett. "He mixed his pitches extremely well. He got us to a good part of the game."

Burnett entered Thursday night's start with the lowest home ERA (1.27) in the National League, but the Reds scored once in each of the first two innings. The run in the first was unearned. Phillips reached safely on Kang's error. Phillips stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Frazier's line single past the head of Burnett.

Phillips tripled to right to plate Billy Hamilton in the second, but the Pirates went ahead in their half of the inning. Jordy Mercer doubled to the right-field corner to score Kang. Cervelli, who reached on an error, came home along with Mercer on Burnett's line single to center.

Cervelli's ground single to right plated McCutchen in the sixth before Frazier evened the game in the seventh. Joey Votto started the inning with a single off reliever Arquimedes Caminero. Frazier then sent a 99 mph fastball over the wall in left-center.

The Pirates were turned away in the eighth thanks to great defense by Phillips and Marlon Byrd. McCutchen walked to lead off against J.J. Hoover, but Phillips then made a sliding stop on Walker's ground ball and delivered a backhand flip to Eugenio Suarez to start a 4-6-3 double play.

Kang singled and Starling Marte, who had been 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts in his career against Hoover, singled to right field to put men at the corners. Cervelli then sent a line drive to right field, but Byrd made a running catch.

Mark Melancon escaped a jam with two men on in the top of the ninth and the Pirates put men on the corners against Ryan Mattheus, but McCutchen flied out to right to send the game to the 10th.

Game Notes

Burnett has four RBI this year, the most he's had in any season in his MLB career ... The Reds left 14 men on base, two more than the Pirates ... Pittsburgh fell to 8-4 in one-run games at home this season.






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