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Pirates top Reds on walk-off walk in 12th

Jun 20, 2014 - 2:36 AM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Gaby Sanchez singled in the 12th inning and scored the winning run when Russell Martin drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk, lifting Pittsburgh to a 4-3 win over Cincinnati on Thursday.

The Pirates avoided being swept in the three-game series, bouncing back to win after Devin Mesoraco tied the game for the Reds with a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning off Pittsburgh closer Jason Grilli.

Sanchez hit a one-out single in the 12th and would have been picked off by a mile at first base had a balk not been called on Tony Cingrani (2-8). Josh Harrison was then intentionally walked and Cingrani hit Barmes with two outs to load the bases.

He nearly hit Martin, too, but the Pirates catcher threw his legs back. It didn't matter. Cingrani's 3-1 pitch was low, forcing in the winning run.

Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke threw six strong innings but his start was cut short by a rain delay in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Wilson (2-0) threw a perfect 12th inning for the win.

"Another efficient outing," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said about Locke. "First-pitch strikes were good. ... They got three hits. They had four baserunners in six innings. That's a very effective outing.

Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak and the Reds had a three-game winning streak halted, finishing 4-2 on their six-game road trip.

Cincinnati righty Homer Bailey went 5 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits and three runs and striking out five.

"I feel like throughout the whole game, they had maybe one or two balls that were hit real solid," said Bailey.

In Tuesday's opener, Grilli gave up a go-ahead solo homer to Todd Frazier in the ninth that lifted Cincinnati to a 6-5 win. In this one, Mesoraco teed off on a one-out slider, driving it into the left-field stands to tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Billy Hamilton made a leaping catch against the center-field wall on pinch-hitter Travis Snider's drive, sending a runner scrambling back to first base.

There were men on first and second when Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman came in to replace Jonathan Broxton and struck out Andrew McCutchen looking to end the inning and the threat.

Frazier singled for the Reds in the 10th but made the third out when he left early for an attempted steal and was caught in a rundown. Chapman struck out the side in the bottom of the inning.

In another wasted chance by the Pirates, Barmes led off the bottom of the 11th with a double off the base of the left-field wall but was stranded at second.

Earlier, the Reds took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Hamilton led off with a double, stole third base and scored on Joey Votto's sacrifice fly.

Votto hit a leadoff double in the fourth, went to third on Brandon Phillips' fly out and scored on Jay Bruce's sac fly to make it 2-0.

Bailey retired the first nine Pittsburgh batters before Gregory Polanco hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend his own Pirates record by hitting safely in his first nine major league games.

The Pirates took a 3-2 lead with a three-run fifth. The first run scored on a balk and Starling Marte and McCutchen added consecutive RBI singles later on.

Pedro Alvarez hit a one-out double in the sixth and went to third when Barmes followed with a single. Bailey was relieved by Sam LeCure after issuing a two- out walk to Locke to load the bases. Following a rain delay of a little over 30 minutes, LeClure got Polanco on a force play to end the inning.

Game Notes

The Pirates improved to 3-7 against the Reds this season ... Frazier was tagged out between first and second base after Marte fielded his hit in deep left field and threw a one-hop strike to second, forcing Frazier to turn back. It was one of a number of good defensive plays in the game ... The Pirates start a three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs on Friday ... The Reds will host Toronto in a three-game series starting Friday.