Phillip Evans, Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds each hit a home run in Monday’s series opener against Cincinnati, but the Reds rallied back to win, 5-3.
Evans and Moran’s home runs put the Bucs ahead, 2-0, in the first inning, but the Reds tied the game in the fifth inning after Mike Moustakas pulled a fastball over the right field fence. They would take the lead in the seventh after Nicholas Castellanos hit a solo home run to left, and Jonathan India and Aristedes Aquino put the game out of reach in the eighth.
J.T. Brubaker struck out 6 while allowing only one run in his season debut. Luis Oviedo, Sam Howard and Michael Feliz combined for 7 strikeouts in relief.
The Pirates fall to 1-3 on the season and will face the Reds tomorrow night at 6:40 p.m. You can hear all the action beginning at 6:15 p.m. on WCCS AM 1160 and 101.1 FM.
ROSTER MOVE:
The Pirates acquired RHP Kyle Keller from the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in exchange for cash considerations. Keller was added to the 40-man roster and has been optioned to the alternate training site.
To make room, RHP Edgar Santana was designated for assignment.
Keller, 27, pitched in two games for the Angels in 2020, where he gave up two earned runs off five hits in 2.1 innings pitched.