A game that looked like it was going to be a walk in the park for the Pittsburgh Pirates turned into a wild affair that produced their highest-scoring game of the season.
Carmen Mlodzinski recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts, and the Pirates pounded the Cincinnati Reds for 19 hits in a 17-7 win Saturday afternoon before 23,763 at PNC Park.
Konnor Griffin led the hit parade with his first four-hit game, and Marcell Ozuna added three hits as seven Pirates had multiple hits. Even more impressive is the Pirates drew 11 walks, tying a major-league record with seven consecutive in the second inning. Only the Chicago White Sox (1909) and Atlanta Braves (1983) had accomplished that feat.
The Reds got off to a fast start against Mlodzinski. With one out, JJ Bleday drew a four-pitch walk and Elly De La Cruz doubled down the right-field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Mlodzinski struck out Sal Stewart, but Nathaniel Lowe hit a deep fly to left-center that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double and 2-0 Reds lead.
The Pirates responded by scoring five runs on five in the bottom of the first. Oneil Cruz led off with a single to center, advanced to second on a balk by Rhett Lowder and scored on Brandon Lowe’s single to left. After Bryan Reynolds drew a walk, Ryan O’Hearn doubled to drive in Lowe and tie the score. Nick Gonzales grounded out to second, allowing Reynolds to score the go-ahead run from third. Marcell Ozuna doubled to left to score O’Hearn, and Griffin doubled to the left-center gap to drive in Ozuna to give the Pirates a 5-2 lead.
Will Benson sent Mlodzinski’s 2-0 fastball 414 feet to right-center for a solo home run to start the second inning and cut it to 5-3. Tyler Stephenson doubled off the center-field wall and advanced to third when TJ Friedl beat Mlodzinski’s throw on a bunt. Friedl singled, and De La Cruz walked to load the bases but Mlodzinski got Sal Stewart to swing at a slider for a strikeout to escape.
The bottom of the second was, quite simply, a walk in the park for the Pirates as they drew seven consecutive bases on balls. After walking Lowe, Reynolds and O’Hearn to load the bases, the Reds pulled Lowder. But Connor Phillips walked Gonzales, Ozuna, Spencer Horwitz and Griffin — on a full count — to increase the lead to 10-3.
The Pirates poured it on again in the fourth, scoring five more runs after Griffin hit a leadoff triple and scored on a single by Cruz. Reynolds added an RBI double, O’Hearn followed with a two-run single and Horwitz added an RBI single as they increased their lead to 15-3.