McCoy: Reds lose to Pirates, fall out of third NL Wild Card spot with five games to play

The worse news was that the New York Mets came from 6-1 behind the Chicago Cubs and rolled to a 9-7 win in Wrigley Field.

So the Reds fell one game behind the Mets in the wild chase for the third wild card spot with only five games remaining.

As usual, the Pirates played the Reds as if they are the old Pittsburgh Lumber Company or the We-Are-Fam-i-lee Pirates.

The Reds managed only five hits, three by Elly De La Cruz, including a two-run homer that produced the team’s only two runs.

“If Elly wants to get hot and stay hot, that would be really welcome,” Reds manager Tito Francona told reporters after the game.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

The Reds struck out 10 times and hit into three double plays — in the seventh, in the eighth and to end the game in the ninth.

All six runs were scored in the second inning, but the Pirates scored twice as many as the Reds.

Brady Singer, the Reds most reliable starter for two months, encountered problems with the bottom portion of the Pittsburgh order.

He retired the first batter. Then Jack Suwinski, hitting an iceberg .131 doubled up the left center gap. Nick Yorke singled him home.

Number eight hitter Alexander Canario was not in the original lineup but replaced injured Joey Bart. He singled up the middle to make it 2-0.

Oneil Cruz, hitting .203, came up with two outs. On Singer’s second pitch, Cruz crushed one the opposite way into the left field seats for a 4-0 lead.

“A lot of bad pitches,” Singer told reporters of the decisive second inning. “Pitches in the middle of the plate and they put good swings on them.”

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Singer had two outs when Cruz launched what turned out to be the margin of victory with his two-run home run.

After Cruz’s home run, Singer retired 11 of the next 14, but gave up an infield hit to Spencer Horwitz leading off the sixth. Nick Gonzalez then fouled off seven pitches during a 13-pitch at bat before lining out. And Singer was done.

“Yeah, those 13 pitches kind of set me back,” he said.

When the bottom of the second began, Pirates pitchers had gone 19 innings without a walk. Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo walked Spencer Steer on four pitches.

Pittsburgh pitchers had gone 23 straight innings without giving up a run, but De La Cruz ended that with a 415-foot blast high into the right field moon deck, cutting the lead to 4-2.

And that’s the way it stayed.

As usual, the Reds’ bullpen was unforgiving. Connor Phillips pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Graham Ashcraft pitched a scoreless one-hit inning and Scott Barlow pitched a 1-2-3 innings.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

The Pirates, though, matched it. Five relief pitchers held the Reds scoreless on three hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The Reds put two on with one out in the fourth, but Oviedo struck out Matt McLain and Will Benson.

The Reds put two on with two outs in the sixth, but McLain bounced into a fielder’s choice.

Then came the string of double plays.

Francona went all-in in the seventh inning. Benson began the inning by striking out, but reached first because it was a wild pitch.

Francona sent Tyler Stephenson to pinch-hit for Jose Trevino. He struck out. Francona sent Sal Stewart to pinch-hit for Ke’Bryan Hayes. He hit into a double play.

TJ Friedl led the eighth with a single. Noelvi Marte popped up and Miguel Andujar rolled into a double play.

De La Cruz walked on four pitches with one out in the ninth. McLain rolled into a game-ending double play.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

It was a bad night for McLain — 0 for 4, two strikeouts, the game-ending double play, five runners stranded.

“They got those three big double plays that really hurt us,” said Francona.

Said Francona about Singer’s start, “I thought he had really good stuff, nice and crisp right out of the chute. He threw a nice two-seam sinker to Cruz. . .and Cruz can do that. You let those long arms get extended and he hurt us.”

And of Pittsburgh starter Oviedo, Francona said, “He has a really good arm. He wasn’t commanding his fastball, but his breaking ball was bailing him out. He even threw it 3-and-0 a couple of times.”

Despite the loss that dropped his record to 14-11, Singer wore a happy face during his post-game media session.

“We just need to come out tomorrow and play our game because obviously we know we gotta win,” he said. “We control what we can do. Flush this one, tomorrow is a new day.”

And Game 2 of the three-game series Wednesday is a dream pitching match-up — Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, who may be the best pitcher in MLB, against Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene, who may be the best pitcher in baseball.

The answer may come in the game’s outcome, a must, must, must win for the Reds.

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