McCutchen hits game-winning homer in ninth

Associated Press

pittsburgh

Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run off Jonathan Broxton with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 Saturday night.

A day after getting no-hit by Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey, the Pirates won with eight hits.

McCutchen’s 31st homer helped Pittsburgh keep a record 20th consecutive losing season at bay for at least a day. The All-Star hit a 2-2 fastball from Broxton (4-4) a couple rows deep in right-center before getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates.

Joel Hanrahan (5-1) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth, setting the stage for McCutchen. Pedro Alvarez had two hits for the Pirates, who won for just the seventh time this month.

Cincinnati, trying to keep pace with the Washington Nationals in the race for the National League’s best record, again struggled to score runs. The Reds wrapped up the NL Central earlier in the week but have now scored just five times in their last four games.

A lone run on Friday was more than enough to preserve Bailey’s gem, and a game-tying single in the eighth by Scott Rolen on Saturday appeared to the Reds life. The Pirates loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning off Cincinnati reliever Logan Ondrusek, but Starling Marte popped out harmlessly in foul territory.

Hanrahan came on in a rare non-save situation and worked around a couple of walks to get to the bottom of the ninth. Josh Harrison lined sharply to center to lead off the inning and McCutchen smacked a Broxton offering into the stands to help the Pirates improve to 77-81.