Cincinnati Reds Fall to Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1

The Reds had the deck stacked against them in loss to Pirates on Monday.

Jun 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (15) and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) talk at second base after a double by De La Cruz during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Reds (34-38) fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates (35-37) 4-1 on Monday night in a game where all the breaks went against them.

Carson Spiers got his first start of 2024 and tossed six innings of four-run baseball. He allowed three runs in the first inning and battled back nicely thereafter, but the Reds bats couldn’t get anything going at the plate with Paul Skenes on the mound.

The Pirates rookie phenom tossed six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

The Reds got their only run on a Spencer Steer double in the first inning, with two outs. There were multiple opportunities for the Reds with Elly De La Cruz in scoring position, but they never even got him to third.

De La Cruz turned in an impressive game with three hits. Two of those hits came against Skenes’ splitter: A pitch that had been hit a grand total of three times before Monday.

The Reds will look to get back in the win column Tuesday night as Nick Lodolo takes the hill against the Pirates Bailey Falter.

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