The Pirates are coming off consecutive seasons of at least 100 losses and have finished last in the NL Central four years in a row.
“I think it’s a considerable difference (from last year), the fact that we’re finding ways to win games,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We had talked about it over the last couple years: With young teams, they have to find ways to win like that.”
Bryan Reynolds had two doubles and a sacrifice fly, while Hayes and Tucupita Marcano added two hits each for the Pirates.
The Reds got two hits apiece from Stuart Fairchild and Jose Barrero but have managed just six runs during their five-game losing streak.
Hill (2-2) won his second consecutive start. The 43-year-old lefty pitched one-run ball and struck out seven, though he gave up six hits and three walks.
“The ball didn’t come out of my hand the way I wanted to all night,” Hill said. “It’s one of those games that you put in the bucket of, you know, find a way to get the team through five and keep the team in the game. That’s really what that outing entailed.”
Yohan Ramirez and Duane Underwood Jr. followed Hill with two scoreless innings each to finish the game. Underwood earned his second save while subbing for closer David Bednar, who was rested after pitching on back-to-back nights.
“Our motto in our bullpen is next man up,” Underwood said. “You always need to be ready to pitch in any situation, in any role whenever (Shelton) calls your name.”
Luis Cessa (0-3) allowed two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out four and walking none. It was a major improvement over his previous start last Sunday when he was rocked for nine runs in the first inning of a loss to Philadelphia and 11 runs and 14 hits overall in three innings.
“I was being aggressive in the zone,” Cessa said. “That’s a key for me, to stay aggressive in the zone with all my pitches — fastball, slider, changeup. Really good things happened today. It was better for sure than my last outing.”
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead against Cessa.
Hayes tripled past a diving Barrero, the center fielder, to lead off the first inning and scored on Reynolds’ sacrifice fly. Carlos Santana and Jack Suwinski hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth to produce a run.
The Reds got their run in the fifth. It was unearned as Jonathan India scored when center fielder Ji Hwan Bae mishandled Fairchild’s single and was charged with an error.
About the Author