Phillips’ nightcap homer helps Reds sweep Bucs

CINCINNATI (AP) — Brandon Phillips hit one homer and had another overturned after a review Monday night, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 to complete a doubleheader sweep that drew the two smallest crowds in Great American Ball Park’s history.

Phillips had three hits off left-hander Paul Maholm (7-8), including a solo homer. He had another solo shot overturned in the fifth. Replays showed that his drive down the left-field line had actually veered foul, leading to the first reversal at the ballpark.

Johnny Cueto (9-10) returned from a stay on the disabled list because of a sore shoulder and won for the first time since July 1. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances.

The Reds sold only 9,087 tickets for the second game, the smallest gate in the ballpark’s seven-year history. The opener drew a much smaller actual crowd.

Fewer than 2,000 fans saw Darnell McDonald score on a wild pitch from Jesse Chavez (0-4) in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win. After playing the first game in tennis-match silence, the Reds went on to complete their first doubleheader sweep in 10 years.

A lot of bad things have happened to both teams since April 10, when rain wiped out their game and prompted the makeup doubleheader.

The Pirates went on yet another trading spree, getting rid of most of their starters. Only Ryan Doumit and Adam LaRoche are left from the lineup that manager John Russell wrote out on that rainy April 10 night.

For the Reds, it’s been all about injuries. Every Reds starter from that game has been sidelined at some point in the season — 19 players overall have gone on the disabled list. Joey Votto was the only Reds mainstay left in the lineup from April.

Hardly anyone cared to watch.

When the afternoon game began, 11 fans were scattered in the upper-deck bleachers in left field, attended by two ushers. After the fourth inning, the video board showed one fan surrounded by empty seats as Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” played over the speaker system, drawing a smattering of applause and laughs from the other fans who knew the feeling.

In the second game, the Reds scored three times in the first off Maholm, who threw 41 pitches in the inning. Phillips led off the third with his 18th homer. Drew Stubbs later added a two-run homer — the rookie also had a solo shot in the opener.

Pittsburgh hadn’t been swept in a doubleheader in Cincinnati since July 9, 1976, when the Big Red Machine was on its way to a second straight World Series championship.

The losses left Pittsburgh only five shy of becoming the first major American professional team to string together 17 straight losing seasons. The Reds are nine losses away from clinching their ninth straight losing season, their longest stretch of futility since the 1950s.