 to give Pittsburgh the lead. Harrison hit his fourth of the season off reliever Austin Brice in the sixth.Harrison finished 2 for 4 and is hitting .368 this season against the Reds. Rookie Austin Meadows also went 2 for 4 to boost his average to .333.Ivan Nova (4-5) worked through heavy traffic in six innings to pick up his second victory in as many starts since returning from the 10-day disabled list with a sprained right ring finger. Nova allowed only Eugenio Suarez's 13th home run of the season in the second, striking out three while giving up three walks.The Pirates have won three straight to move back to .500 (35-35) and assured themselves of their first series win since sweeping a two-game set with the Chicago White Sox a month ago.Castillo struggled keeping the ball on the right side of the fence at PNC Park, a problem that's plagued the 25-year-old all season. He's now allowed at least one home run in 15 of his 18 starts.Rookie Brandon Dixon hit his first major league home run off Pittsburgh reliever Michael Feliz in the ninth and Jesse Winker had two of Cincinnati's seven hits to snap out of an 0-for-13 funk, but the Reds had issues taking advantage against Nova.Cincinnati went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and is now 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position in the series.Moran broke a tie with his fourth home run of the season and first since June 2 when he sent Castillo's pitch into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence leading off the second. Diaz made it 3-1 when his fifth home run led off the third.The Reds had their opportunities against Nova. They loaded the bases in the fourth only to have Billy Hamilton ground out to first to end the threat. Scott Schebler led off the fifth with a double but couldn't get home and Hamilton came to the plate in the sixth with two runners on only to fly out to left field.Hamilton finished 0 for 4 as his averaged dipped to .187.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: Reliever Richard Rodriguez (right shoulder inflammation) threw 20 pitches in a simulated game and is nearing a return from the 10-day disabled list. Rodriguez, who is eligible to come off the DL on Monday, said ''things feel really good right now.'' UP NEXTReds: Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 5.40 ERA) starts the series finale on Sunday. The 28-year-old picked up his first victory since 2016 in his previous start against St. Louis.Pirates: Joe Musgrove (2-1, 2.16) makes his first career start against the Reds. Musgrove gave up two earned runs in five innings of a no decision on Monday against Arizona.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Pirates hope to get on a roll against Reds 3h ago• 2 min read The Pittsburgh Pirates will be trying to win three games in a row after a rough month and the Cincinnati Reds will be looking to avoid the start of a skid when the teams play the middle game of a series Saturday at PNC Park.Pittsburgh (34-35) won the series opener 3-2, posting back-to-back wins for the first time since winning three straight May 15-17 to reach a season-best nine games above .500.In the interim before Friday's win, the Pirates were 6-18 and entered the weekend as close to the last-place Reds (eight games) as they were to first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central."It's a long season. There's going to be times where stuff like that happens," Pittsburgh third baseman Colin Moran said of the poor stretch. "It's more important that we bounce back like we did." Cincinnati (23-44) had won three in a row before Friday.Pirates right-hander Ivan Nova (3-5, 4.68 ERA) is scheduled to face Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (4-7, 5.79) on Saturday.Nova on Sunday returned from the disabled list (sprained right ring finger) without having made any rehab starts. No matter. He struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and four hits in a 7-1 win over the Cubs in Chicago.It showed the Pirates that the veteran can still be highly effective. It showed Nova that it is better to be forthcoming about nagging injuries and be willing to step away and heal."Just the way that the ball was coming out of my hand, I could tell the difference right away," Nova said. "To be able to pitch a game like (that) ... I think that's kind of a lesson for you. Don't force it." He had not had any sort of organized outing since his last appearance before May 24 when he went on the DL."He was ready to pitch," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "At the end of the day, he showed you he was ready to pitch." Nova also impressed the opposition."He was hitting the corners all day, keeping the ball down," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo told MLB.com. "It's tough to do anything when he's on like that." Nova is 3-7 with a 4.67 ERA in 10 career starts against Cincinnati.Castillo's last start was much more mixed than Nova's.In a 6-4 loss to St. Louis, Castillo had a career-high 10 strikeouts but also a career-high two homers allowed as Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna smacked back-to-back dingers in the first inning after Castillo struck out the first two hitters on six pitches. He also gave up a first-pitch, bases-loaded triple to Yadier Molina in the third."You just have to be strong mentally, more than physically," Castillo said through an interpreter.He gave up five runs and four hits in six innings that game. Despite the rocky start and the loss, Castillo, 25, managed an in-game turnaround, allowing just one batter to reach base in his final three innings."You saw the talent of Castillo," Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman said. "The last three innings that he threw were outstanding, and it's exciting to know that this guy has got a chance to be around here for a very long time. He's just going to get better and better once he gets past these growing pains." Castillo is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh, with 22 strikeouts in 22 innings.
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