Tyler Mahle strikes out 10, outduels Bryse Wilson as Reds sweep Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds conducted the last thing expected from the NL Central Division rivals, given their lopsided outcomes this season.

Bryse Wilson and Tyler Mahle engaged in a pitcher’s duel, combining for 17 strikeouts and only one walk.

Mahle won that battle, despite giving up the game’s only home run, as the Reds relied on four doubles to do their damage in a 3-2 win Sunday afternoon to sweep the four-game series.

“I wanted to come in and put a stop on the lineup that was really hot, hitting a lot of homers on a lot of good pitches,” Wilson (2-5) said. “A pitching duel, in my opinion, is always fun to be in.”

The Pirates have less positive things to say about playing in Cincinnati. The Reds (61-51) outscored the Pirates, 61-17, in winning all seven of their games at Great American Ball Park this season. The Reds have won 12 of their past 13 meetings and, dating to last season, 12 consecutive home games against the Pirates.

“I don’t know. I wish I had the answer to that,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “They have had our number in this ballpark. I wish I had an answer for you, and I don’t.”

Wilson allowed three runs on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts on 97 pitches in six innings, relying more heavily upon his curveball to curb the Reds’ power after they hit 16 homers in the first six games at Great American Ball Park.

The curveball was one of the least-used pitches in Wilson’s repertoire as he threw it only 6.7% of the time last year and 8.1% coming into Sunday’s game. He worked on adding depth to it in his bullpen session, then threw 23 curveballs to go with 29 four-seam fastballs, 26 sinkers and 18 changeups.

“I wouldn’t say it was an emphasis. I think it was more just with a lineup that’s as good as this one is and we had six right-handed hitters in the lineup today, it was going to be a bigger pitch for sure,” Wilson said. “It was very good today, so we just kept going to it.”

The Pirates spotted Wilson a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, when Bryan Reynolds doubled to left and scored on an Anthony Alford grounder that Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez booted while sliding in front of shortstop Kyle Farmer.

The Reds responded with four hits in the bottom of the inning. Jesse Winker hit a leadoff double that bounced into the third-base seats. He failed to score when Nick Castellanos followed with a double to left-center that a diving Reynolds couldn’t corral.

Despite having runners on second and third, the Reds scored only one run when Joey Votto lined an 0-2 changeup off the right-center wall. Castellanos tagged up despite the ball sailing 378 feet and no play to be made. It only delayed the inevitable.

Castellanos scored when Tyler Stephenson grounded into what should have been a double play. Instead, it was a forceout at second when Pirates second baseman Rodolfo Castro’s high throw pulled shortstop Hoy Park off the bag. That left Stephenson on first, where he scored from on Kyler Farmer’s double to right for a 3-1 lead.

“He didn’t execute ahead in the count, but I thought he threw the ball well overall,” Shelton said. “To execute pitches the way he did, for that inning to start with two mis-hit balls, you give them credit. They put the ball in play, and it ended up being the difference in the game.”

Mahle (9-3) allowed two runs on six hits, striking out 10 without giving up a walk on 110 pitches in seven innings. His biggest mistake came when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a 403-foot home run to left to lead off the sixth and cut the Reds lead to 3-2.

It was Hayes’ fifth homer of the season and first since July 5 against Atlanta, snapping a streak of 100 at-bats without a homer.

“It felt good, just squaring the ball up,” Hayes said. “My game is not really tailored to just hit the ball out of the park, so I just try to get pitches elevated and hit them hard on a line. If they happen to go out, then they go out.”

The Pirates, however, stranded Colin Moran at second base after a double in the sixth. After Reynolds drew a two-out walk in the eighth, the Pirates made a curious call: With the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate, cleanup hitter Moran tried to bunt. Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen, a two-way player who doubles as an outfielder, fielded it and threw him out to end the inning.

Mychal Givens retired the Pirates in order in the ninth for his second save.

The Pirates (41-70) are off Monday and start a six-day homestand Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals followed by a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I mean the Reds, they just put really good swings on balls,” Hayes said. “We were kind of leaving some pitches elevated in the zone and out over the plate, and they were capitalizing on them. It will be good just to get home and get back in front of that home crowd against St. Louis and Milwaukee.”