Zach Thompson extends scoreless streak to 12 innings; Pirates snap skid

Zach Thompson looked spent as the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-foot-7 right-hander stood on the mound, enduring a muggy, 78-degree day from the first pitch and a scoreless streak that gained gravity with every inning.

Thompson faced the first 19 Cincinnati Reds batters Saturday night without allowing a hit, until Brandon Drury belted a bloop single to shallow right field to break up the bid with two outs in the sixth.

Only then did Thompson realize the magnitude of the moment.

“I didn’t know until the ball was hit,” Thompson said. “When it landed, everyone started cheering and I was like, ‘Why are we cheering for someone else getting a hit?’ And then I looked out and saw there was a one and was like, ‘Huh.’ ”

After throwing 75 pitches and receiving a mound visit from Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin, Thompson stayed in to get the final out. Tommy Pham had the 12,959 at PNC Park holding their breath by driving a deep fly to Ben Gamel at the warning track in left field.

Thompson exited after tossing a one-hit shutout over six innings — the type of pitching performance the Pirates were desperately seeking from a starter — to snap a two-game losing skid with a 3-1 win over the Reds.

Thompson stretched his scoreless streak to 12 consecutive innings over his past three appearances. He didn’t allow a run during a five-inning start at Cincinnati last Sunday — which required an IV beforehand to deal with dehydration — and one inning of relief May 4. Over that three-game stretch, he had 10 strikeouts while giving up four hits and four walks.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Thompson’s command and efficiency, especially in throwing only 17 pitches (13 for strikes) through the first two innings. Thompson, who retired the first three batters on seven pitches, got seven groundouts and two flyouts.

“When our guys go out, we just need them to be efficient and he was really efficient,” Shelton said. “With where our bullpen was at, we were in pretty good shape. But any time our guys are that efficient, especially the first few times through the order, it’s important.”

Three Pirates rookies combined to give Thompson an early cushion by scoring two runs in the second inning. Jack Suwinski reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on Rodolfo Castro’s single to right field. With runners on the corners, Reds starter Luis Castillo was called for a balk. Suwinski scored for a 1-0 Pirates lead, and Diego Castillo followed with a single to left that drove in Castro to make it 2-0.

“The balk does help, but the balk doesn’t come into play unless they know he’s a threat to move,” Shelton said. “They did a nice job getting on base, Jack getting down the line. … It’s cool to see the young kids provide run-scoring opportunities and runs.”

In the bottom of the fourth, Pirates designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach drove a 3-2 changeup 433 feet to the top of the Pirates hedges in front of the batter’s eye in dead center for his sixth home run and a 3-0 lead.

“You don’t get many good ones to hit with him,” Vogelbach said of his first career hit against Luis Castillo after going 0 for 8 with four walks. “He’s got really good stuff. I was able to put a good swing on it.”

Wil Crowe replaced Thompson in the seventh and immediately got into trouble. He walked Mike Moustakas, who advanced to third on Colin Moran’s fielder’s choice. With two outs, Albert Almora Jr. singled to right to score Moustakas and cut it to 3-1. Castillo allowed Almora to reach second by trying to throw Moran out at third.

With runners on second and third, Crowe froze Matt Reynolds with a slider on the outside corner for a called third strike to escape the jam.

Pham singled off Chris Stratton with two outs in the eighth, then stole second base on David Bednar, who got Moustakas to fly out to right.

“Any time a starter gives you a chance and throws up zeroes the way he did against a really good arm, it’s all you can ask for,” Vogelbach said. “Luis Castillo is really, really good. He’s been really good for a long time, and Zach Thompson went out and just absolutely threw awesome and gave us an opportunity to put some runs up. Any time you face an ace like Castillo, you know runs are going to be tough to come by. This game is all about Zach and the way he threw the ball.”