Pirates outslugged by Reds in series opener

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Joey Votto hit his 21st homer of the season and later scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-8 on Friday night.

Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs for Cincinnati, which let a four-run lead slip away. Ryan Hanigan added a solo shot and drove in two insurance runs in the ninth as the Reds beat the Pirates for just the third time in 10 tries.

Travis Wood (6-5) picked up the win in relief. Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect ninth inning to collect his 25th save.

Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan (0-2) took the loss, giving up three runs while getting just one out in the ninth after entering with the score tied.

Bell sold on future

Josh Bell was so convinced he wanted to play college baseball at Texas he sent the major league scouting bureau a note asking teams not to select him in the MLB draft.

The powerfully built outfielder even changed his phone number hoping clubs would get the message.

Didn’t matter, the Pittsburgh Pirates came calling anyway, taking Bell with the 61st pick. General manager Neal Huntington and director of scouting Greg Smith spent weeks trying to get Bell to change his mind, sending him power point presentations on the team’s player development program and pointing to homegrown success stories like second baseman Neil Walker and All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen.

Eventually, Bell wore down. The eye-popping $5 million signing bonus he received didn’t hurt either.

“I think the Pirates went out and took a leap of faith for me and I’m really happy that they did,” Bell said Friday, four days after agreeing to terms.

Even if the leap was a pricey one for the normally budget-conscious Pirates. Pittsburgh spent $13 million securing Bell and top overall pick Gerrit Cole.