The Pirates won 7-6 against the Cincinnati Reds in what proved to be a very strange game. The Bucs opened the game with back-to-back homers by Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata, and they took a 4-0 lead later in the inning while Reds starter Edinson Volquez struggled with his control.
Pirates starter Jeff Karstens, meanwhile, inexplicably racked up strikeouts with mediocre stuff, but a solo homer by Jonny Gomes in the second, an RBI single by Paul Janish in the fourth and an ugly fifth inning drove Karstens from the game with the Reds taking a 5-4 lead.
The Bucs added two runs in the sixth on a homer by Garrett Jones and an RBI double by John Bowker, but Jose Veras allowed a homer by Jay Bruce in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at six.
The Pirates retook the lead in the eighth despite some terrible decisions by Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno decided to bunt with men on first and third and got the lead runner called out at the plate (although replays showed that he should have been safe). He then tried to get from first to third on what should have been a simple go-head RBI single by Andrew McCutchen with two outs, and nearly got tagged out, potentially canceling out the run. In the bottom of the eighth, however, Cedeno bailed out Evan Meek with a diving catch and a toss to Neil Walker to double a runner off second. Joel Hanrahan finished out the save in the ninth despite having serious problems finding the strike zone.
McCutchen went 3-for-3 with two walks and a homer in the game.
For more on the game, check out the recap at Bucs Dugout.