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The Pittsburgh Pirates completed double header sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 1-0 victory.
The Pirfates won the first three games of this four-game series. The Pirates have won just five of the last 22 games at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds and Pirates had to manage their individual pitching staff.
The Pirates chose to hand the ball to a hard throwing prospect, Luis Ortiz. The Reds stitched together a bullpen game, starting relief pitcher Fernando Cruz and follwing his 1 2/3 innings with Reiver Sanmartin and Raymel Espinal.
The result through five innings was no score and one hit for each team.
Stuart Fairchild doubled in the third inning for the Reds. Ben Gamel led off the fifth inning with a single in the fifth.
Ortiz walked three in 5 2/3 innings but Chase De Jong got the final out in the sixth to keep the game scoreless.
Espinal pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed a one-out double by Rodolfo Castro in the seventh. Ian Gibaut came in to relieve Espinal.
Kevin Newman dove in the first run of the game with a single off the glove of shortstop Matt Reynolds.
Yohan Ramirez pitched a quick 1-2-3 eighth for Pittsburgh.
The Reds brought Alexis Diaz in to pitch the ninth.
"You have to give credit to their pitcher, 100, 101, tight slider, some change ups. We believed we were going to score but it starts with score better than that but it really does start with the impressive stuff that he had," David Bell said.
Bell had a plan going in to keep the Pirates from scoring without taxing his bullpen. His plan worked.
"Our bullpen continues to be very good," Bell said. "Everybody stepped up. It was a different kind of game, different roles, different situations. They all gave us a chance to score."
Bell named Fernando Cruz to start the game. The Reds brought him to the major leagues for the first time at the age of 32. He spent 10 years in the minor leagues before getting his big chance.
The Reds signed him to a minor league contract on January 27 and added him to the big league roster on September 1. Cruz made his debut on September 2. With his 1 2/3 innings against the Pirates, he has allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings.
"Oh my god, it is something I was dreaming of," Cruz said. "Watching my name on the lineup, every way I go, my name was on my phone as a starting pitcher. I got to use my Lion King music. Circle of Life, now I know the name, it means a lot to me. It just tells me of life. There was a lot of emotions coming to the major leagues, I feel like I'm playing baseball back again."
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