Pittsburgh shut out for second straight game

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH, PA.

Homer Bailey became the latest Cincinnati starter to play a simple game of pitch-and-catch against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bailey threw a four-hitter without walking anyone Wednesday, leading the Reds over Pittsburgh 5-0 for a three-game sweep.

Bailey followed Johnny Cueto’s one-hit gem at PNC Park on Tuesday. The Reds became the first team in the majors in nearly 10 years to pitch back-to-back, complete-game shutouts without a walk — Oakland’s Tim Hudson and Barry Zito did it on Sept. 9-10, 2000, against Tampa Bay, according to STATS LLC.

“That’s my first complete game as a pro, and I didn’t even know how may pitches I had,” said Bailey, who struck out six. “All of a sudden I looked up and thought, ‘Oh, I’m in the ninth now. Cool.”’

“[Catcher Ryan Hanigan] did an outstanding job behind the plate. We just kind of worked together the whole time,” Bailey said. “I just sit there and throw the damn thing to the glove. It’s that easy, right?”

Bailey (1-2) needed only 90 pitches — 73 for strikes — to close out the Reds’ fifth straight win.

Pittsburgh accounted for only one run and 10 hits in the series. Just like Cueto, Bailey took advantage of the aggressive Pirates batters, not going to a single three-ball count and throwing more than four pitches to a single batter just six times.

Pittsburgh’s Garrett Jones, who had two of the four hits and the only extra-base hit Wednesday, gave credit to Cincinnati’s pitchers but said the Pirates made them look better than they are.

“We’re just missing some pitches,” he said. “And getting pitches to hit and not doing anything with them. I feel like we just start giving at-bats away.”