Kevin Newman's 10th-inning RBI double gives Pirates 6-5 victory over Reds
The moment Kevin Newman struck the first-pitch sinker he saw, Josh Bell helped lead a cavalcade out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ dugout late Saturday afternoon.
With Francisco Cervelli at first base and one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Newman lined a double into the left-field gap. As manager Clint Hurdle put it, “You couldn’t have put the ball in a better spot.” Cervelli’s 33-year-old legs chugged to carry him around third and toward a gathered group of teammates near home plate. Cervelli crossed home just before a relay throw arrived there, giving the Pirates a 6-5 victory against the Cincinnati Reds.
“I was out of the dugout, I was waving home with (third base coach Joey Cora), the whole nine yards,” Bell said with a wry smile. “If he’s out, we are all embarrassed. We’d have to tuck our tails in and walk back into the dugout.”
Not Saturday. Instead, the Pirates (4-3) walked off PNC Park’s field proudly carrying a three-game winning streak and over .500 for the first time this season.
Bell had a solo homer among his three extra-base hits and two RBIs, backup catcher Jacob Stallings went 2 for 4 with a run and Jason Martin was on base twice, stole a base and scored a run in his MLB debut for the Pirates, who won for the first time this season during a game in which they gave up a run.
“We got a number of contributions from different places, and we found enough outs off the mound,” Hurdle said. “Really, really good team victory.”
It was wrapped up by way of a one-out, pinch-hit single by Cervelli that the stage for Newman, a rookie former first-round pick making his second start of the season. His first career walk-off hit was his third for extra bases in 104 career plate appearances.
“Right after I hit it,” Newman said, “I was like, ‘That’s a line drive right in the gap. Here we go. Let’s see what happens.’ ”
The win was the first in three extra-inning games this season for the Pirates, who finally did not get an outstanding, dominant outing from a starting pitcher.
Trevor Williams became the first Pirates starter other than Jameson Taillon (five runs in 13 innings) to allow a run. Cincinnati snapped a 30-inning scoreless streak overall (and a separate 30-inning scoreless streak against the Pirates dating to Opening Day) when Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer in the third inning.
While one of those runs was unearned, Williams was uncharacteristically tagged for three consecutive hits later that inning and two more runs in the game. It marked only the third time in 15 starts that Williams was charged with at least three earned runs.
“It’s hard to think through, but this may have been one of your better efforts,” Hurdle said. “Where it ended, where it could have gone, where it was in the middle and how you finished up. He rolled his sleeves up and did some yard work. … Five balls were hit hard in a row. ‘All right, what are you gonna do? What’s next?’ he settled in and kept making pitches, his execution got better his last two innings.”
And in a flip of an all-too-often script their young season had followed so far, it was the Pirates who rallied to win a game. They did so despite their bullpen blowing a late-inning lead for the fifth time (in four games) this season. On Saturday, it was Keone Kela who was charged with the blown save — he allowed a leadoff home run to Joey Votto in the eighth that tied the game at 5-5.
“That’s not a bad pitch,” Hurdle said. “That’s a great hitter doing something that only 1-2 hitters in the game can do, and he hits the ball out of the ballpark. You tip your hat and move on.”
Starling Marte had given the Pirates the lead with a two-out, two-run double in the sixth. Each of the three Pirates losses had come with them leading after the end of six innings. Before Saturday, they had allowed just one run all season prior to the seventh inning.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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