The Pittsburgh Pirates, in desperate need of a victory, lost their fifth game in a row on Tuesday night, falling 5-to-3 to the Cincinnati Reds. The loss drops the Pirates to 72-and-69 on the season and potentially moves them further out of the N.L. Wild Card race.
The Pirates got out to an early lead on Tuesday night when Alex Presley hit a solo homer to right field in the first inning. But Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips followed that up with a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at one. Phillips then doubled in the third inning to make the score 2-to-1, and the Reds extended the lead to 4-to-1 when pitcher Mike Leake scored on a wild pitch by Pirates starter Kevin Correa and Phillips crossed home on an error by Michael McKenry on the same play.
Gaby Sanchez brought the Pirates to within one with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, but that would be all the scoring the Pirates would do. After Scott Rolen hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 5-to-3, Reds reliever Jonathan Broxton shut the door in the ninth for his first save with the team.
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