Pirates Make Franchise History in Blowout Win Over Reds
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have dominated the Cincinnati Reds in their weekend series at PNC Park and made some history along the way.
The Pirates defeated the Reds 17-7 on May 2, scoring 15 runs in the first four innings and doing just about everything they could in making a statement against their National League Central Division rival.
Pittsburgh tied an MLB-record with seven walks in seven consecutive plate appearances in the second inning, which scored four runs and forced two pitching changes from Cincinnati.
This was the third time that it had happened in the same inning, with it first happening back in the second inning of the first game of a doubleheader on Aug. 28, 1909 for the Chicago White Sox against the Washington Senators and then also with Pirates, as Jim Bibby and Jim Wynn combined to issue seven consecutive walks against the Atlanta Braves on May 25, 1983.
While the seven consecutive walks was the main talking point from this game, the Pirates also set some impressive feats of their own in the victory.
Pirates Make Offensive History vs. Reds
One of the most impressive stats from the Pirates win is that all nine starting position players recorded an RBI in the win.
It marks the fifth time since RBI became an official stat in 1920 that all nine Pirates starters recorded an RBI.
Date | Team |
|---|---|
April 19, 1921 | Chicago Cubs (Road) |
Sept. 3, 1924 | St. Louis Cardinals |
Aug. 6, 1941 | Chicago Cubs (Road) |
Sept. 16, 1975 | Chicago Cubs (Road) |
The Pirates scored five runs in the first inning, the second inning and the fourth inning, accounting for 15 of their 17 runs.
It marked the fourth time that the Pirates had scored five runs in three different innings in a single game.
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Aug. 9, 1887 (As Pittsburgh Alleghenys) | Boston Beaneaters (Home) |
Aug. 1 (G1), 1893 | St. Louis Browns (Road) |
April 27, 1912 | Cincinnati Reds (Home) |
The five runs the Pirates scored in each of the first two innings served as the 24th time they'v done that, most recently against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth and ninth innings of a 16-2 win on May 8, 2005.
It was also the fourth time that the Pirates had scored at least five runs in consecutive innings to start a game.
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Sept. 24, 1901 | New York Giants |
May 26, 1964 | Philadelphia Phillies |
Sept. 26, 1992 | New York Mets |
Pirates Players Loving Offensive Success vs. Reds
The Pirates have hit excellently vs. the Reds this season, aside from their 2-0 defeat in their first meeting on March 30 at Great American Park.
Pittsburgh won the next two games on the road by a score of 8-3 and then won the series opener 9-1, giving them a 42-10 run advantage over Cincinnati this season.
Pirates right fielder Ryan O'Hearn almost hit a home run, but settled for a two-RBI-single, and had an RBI-double in the first inning for three RBI on the day
O'Hearn was one of the seven players that walked in the second inning, but loved the approach from him and his fellow Pirates teammates to get the big win.
"I think sticking to the plan, being stingy to the plan, focus on your approach," O'Hearn said on the Pirates' success. "If the other team's throwing balls, stay out of their way. A walk is as good as a hit. You get a couple guys on base, somebody gets a big hit and the offense is rolling. It's always fun. The dugout gets rowdy. Everyone's locked in. Fun to put a lot of points on the board. Hopefully we just keep this mojo going.
Star rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had a good game as well, also walking in the second inning, but finishing with a season-high four hits and adding two RBI as well.
Griffin is feeling at ease in the Pirates lineup, particularly in a game like this vs. the Reds, where there's not much pressure being around a great supporting cast.
“I don’t have to do too much. Like I’ll just be a little piece of the puzzle," Griffin said. "I got a lot of really good hitters in front of me and my job’s to get on base for those guys to drive me in, so I’m gonna try to do that as much as I can.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.