 is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five starts. Seven of the runs charged to him Sunday were earned, and he had two walks and two strikeouts while throwing 79 pitches.''I definitely didn't make enough good pitches,'' Bauer said. ''When I did make good pitches, it didn't go my way. A lot of weakly hit balls that end up being hits instead of outs. A couple inches here and there. Some balls on other days might be outs.'' Bauer was traded three days after throwing a ball over the center field fence in frustration in Kansas City after being removed from what ended up being his final game with Cleveland.''Just some hits that seemed to be falling in there and not necessarily hit hard. That's happened in a couple of his starts,'' Reds manager David Bell said. ''Walked a couple but seemed to be just missing a little bit. Then there's just all kind of combined, where it can kind of get away from you a little bit. Trevor, he's just so determined to be great. We can't wait to see him come back out next time.'' Bryan Reynolds hit a bases-loaded triple high off the right field wall to cap a three-run second inning that put the Pirates ahead for good at 5-3. The sweep was Pittsburgh's first since taking three from San Diego on June 21-23.Eugenio Suarez's leadoff home run in the ninth inning drew the Reds within a run, but Felipe Vazquez retired the last three hitters for his 23rd save in 25 opportunities.Pirates leadoff hitter Kevin Newman went 4 for 4, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases in helping send Cincinnati to its sixth straight road loss. Pittsburgh has won 10 consecutive games at home against the Reds, dating to last season.Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle moved Newman up to the top of the order at the beginning of the series.''I've hit leadoff pretty much my entire (professional) career, so there's comfortability there,'' Newman said.Dario Agrazal (3-3) allowed four runs in five innings to end his three-game losing streak. The rookie struck out five and walked two.Starling Marte's run-scoring double with two outs in the eighth proved critical as it gave Pittsburgh a two-run lead at 9-7. Cincinnati rookie Josh VanMeter hit a two-run home run in the top of the inning that cleared the right field stands and bounced into the Allegheny River to make it a one-run game.Kyle Farmer also homered for the Reds and Jose Iglesias had three hits.The Pirates led 8-3 by the end of the third inning. They have scored a combined 23 runs in their last two games after being held to one run or less in five of their previous six games.The Pirates had been 8-30 since the All-Star break prior to the series.''We connected the dots much better,'' Hurdle said. ''We hit it better, we pitched it better and we caught it better.'' TRAINER'S ROOMReds: CF Nick Senzel (sore right thumb) did not start for a second straight game but pinch-hit in the sixth inning and struck out. ... 1B Joey Votto (lower back strain) fielded ground balls but isn't expected to be activated from the injured list for at least a few more days.Pirates: RHP Chad Kuhl and RHP Edgar Santana, both rehabbing from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, are throwing bullpens and expected to be at full strength when spring training begins in February.UP NEXTReds: Begin a four-game series Monday night at Miami as RHP Sonny Gray (9-6, 2.92) is scheduled to start against LHP Caleb Smith (8-7, 3.82). Gray is 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last 12 starts.Pirates: Open a three-game series at Philadelphia on Monday night with RHP Joe Musgrove (8-12, 4.74) pitching against LHP Jason Vargas (6-6, 3.99). In four August starts, Musgrove is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Lowly Pirates go for 3 straight vs. RedsFLMThe Pittsburgh Pirates will be going for a series sweep Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, and that would an occasion to mark.The Pirates have not swept a series since they won a three-game weekend set against San Diego June 21-23. They also haven't won as many as three in a row since the first three days of July.Pittsburgh has won the first two games of this series in disparate fashion, getting a walk-off 3-2 win Friday followed by a 14-0 blowout Saturday.The latter was a breakout game on offense for the Pirates, who had scored a combined 10 runs over their previous seven games, including two shutout losses."We've got a great core group of guys. We're just trying to continue to build momentum for the rest of this season and working into next season," Pittsburgh's Josh Bell, whose three-run homer Saturday put him over the 100-RBI mark at 102, told AT&T Sportsnet.Cincinnati, which had won two straight entering the series, won't be getting help from first baseman Joey Votto. He is eligible to come off the injured list (back) Sunday, but manager David Bell said that while Votto is getting close to a return, he won't be ready for the series finale.On Sunday, Cincinnati right-hander Trevor Bauer (10-10, 4.06 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Dario Agrazal (2-3, 4.09).Bauer will be making his fifth appearance since being acquired by the Reds in a three-team deal at the July 31 trade deadline. In his first four starts, he is 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA.On Monday, he took the loss in a 3-2 game against San Diego despite striking out 11 in seven innings. He gave up three runs, two of them earned, and five hits.It was an outing that gave David Bell reason to be optimistic."It was around the middle of the game, and it's like, 'Wow, he's really finding it right here.' He found a good rhythm," Bell said. "One of these games we'll have a lead and we'll get to see him finish one of these things and throw 130 pitches. We know he's capable of it, but we had to hit for him again (to try to get some runs). You saw him get locked in, so at least he had the opportunity to find that. Hopefully, he can take that into his next start." Bauer ranks first in the majors with 179 2/3 innings pitched and fourth with 215 strikeouts.He has won both of his career starts against the Pirates, one in 2015 and one last year, with a 1.35 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.Agrazal made his last appearance in relief -- he retired all six Washington Nationals batters he faced Wednesday just after his latest recall from Triple-A Indianapolis -- but with injuries to starters, most recently Chris Archer, the rookie is getting a chance to prove he deserves a shot at being a rotation regular.This will be his ninth start after going 2-3 with a 4.29 ERA in the first eight. However, he has lost his past three starts, giving up seven homers in 14 innings.Agrazal has made one start against Cincinnati, taking the loss July 31 in a 4-1 game when he gave up a solo homer to Jesse Winker and a two-run shot to Eugenio Suarez.--Field Level Media
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