GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PITTSBURGH (21-27) at CINCINNATI (18-32)

NL: PITTSBURGH (21-27) at CINCINNATI (18-32)

<h3>Struggling Reds look to avoid sweep vs. Pirates</h3>

<div class="pre">Pittsburgh (21-27) at Cincinnati (18-32) 1:15 pm EDT</div>

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Zach Duke is struggling. So are theCincinnati Reds. Something has to give when the PittsburghPirates go for the sweep of the Reds on Sunday.

Duke (1-5, 5.56 ERA), who has lost three of his last fourstarts, takes on the mound as Pittsburgh looks to handCincinnati its sixth straight loss.

The Pirates, who have won three straight for the first timesince winning five in a row from April 22-27, are aiming for thefirst three-game sweep of the Reds in four years.

Duke is hoping that Pittsburgh's success will rub off on him.The lefthander allowed six runs - five earned - and a<div class="pre">season-high 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday in a 9-4 loss</div>to St. Louis. However, his lone win of the season came againstCincinnati on April 8 when he allowed three runs and six hits insix innings of a 6-3 win.

Cincinnati, which has lost 19 of its last 24 games and has theworst record in the major's, will send converted reliever KirkSaarloos to the mound. Saarloos (0-3, 5.09) will be making hissecond start after appearing in 20 games out of the bullpen.

In his last outing Saarloos received a no-decision when heallowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings againstWashington on Tuesday.

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH AT CINCINNATI -- LINEUPS

PITTSBURGH CINCINNATI
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Jose Bautista 3B .259 3 11 Ryan Freel CF .254 2 11
Chris Duffy CF .230 2 14 Brandon Phillips 2B .282 9 28
Freddy Sanchez 2B .282 0 11 Ken Griffey Jr RF .293 11 30
Adam Laroche 1B .199 5 24 Jeff Conine 1B .277 2 16
Jason Bay LF .295 6 34 Edwin Encarnacion 3B .233 2 18
Xavier Nady RF .283 7 27 Adam Dunn LF .251 12 28
Ronny Paulino C .224 4 19 Alex Gonzalez SS .263 9 21
Jack Wilson SS .260 1 11 Chad Moeller C .222 0 0
Zach Duke LHP .222 0 0 Kirk Saarloos RHP .000 0 0
(1-5, 5.56) (0-3, 5.09)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI
WARMUPS: PIT - ZACH DUKE (1-5, 5.56)
CIN - KIRK SAARLOOS (0-3, 5.09)

UMPIRES: HP - SAM HOLBROOK
1B - HUNTER WENDELSTEDT
2B - RANDY MARSH
3B - BOB DAVIDSON

WEATHER: 83 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 9 mph, in from right</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI -- REVISED WARMUPS
WARMUPS: PIT - ZACH DUKE (1-5, 5.56)
CIN - KIRK SAARLOOS (0-3, 5.09)

UMPIRES: HP - SAM HOLBROOK
1B - HUNTER WENDELSTEDT
2B - RANDY MARSH
3B - RANDY MARSH

WEATHER: 83 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 9 mph, in from right</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI
STARTING BATS: PIT - ZACH DUKE AND RONNY PAULINO
CIN - KIRK SAARLOOS AND CHAD MOELLER

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAUTISTA (.259, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
C DUFFY (.230, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
F SANCHEZ (.282, 0 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CHRIS DUFFY SCORED JOSE BAUTISTA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C DUFFY ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 1
CINCINNATI 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: F SANCHEZ (.282, 0 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ADAM LAROCHE SCORED CHRIS DUFFY.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, A LAROCHE ON FIRST, F SANCHEZ ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 2
CINCINNATI 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAY (.295, 6 HR, 34 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY JASON BAY (7) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF KIRK SAARLOOS SCORED FREDDY SANCHEZ AND ADAM LAROCHE.
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 5, CINCINNATI 0

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: X NADY (.283, 7 HR, 27 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - PITCHING CHANGE
CIN: VICTOR SANTOS (1-0, 3.46) IN THE 1ST
SITUATION: 5 RUNS IN, R PAULINO ON FIRST, X NADY ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 5, CINCINNATI 0

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J WILSON (.260, 1 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: V Santos relieved K Saarloos.
SITUATION: 5 RUNS IN, R PAULINO ON FIRST, X NADY ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 5
CINCINNATI 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J Wilson (.260, 1 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 5 5 5 0
CINCINNATI 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: PIT - ZACH DUKE
CIN - VICTOR SANTOS

DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: R FREEL (.254, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
B PHILLIPS (.282, 9 HR, 28 RBI)
K GRIFFEY JR (.293, 11 HR, 30 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (5) VS CINCINNATI (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Bautista 3b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .259
C Duffy cf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .235
F Sanchez 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
A LaRoche 1b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .204
J Bay lf 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 .299
X Nady rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .224
J Wilson ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Z Duke p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .211

Totals 7 5 5 5 2 0 2

BATTING: 2B - C Duffy (8, K Saarloos). HR - J Bay (7, 1st inning off K Saarloos
2 on, 0 Out). RBI - C Duffy (15), A LaRoche (25), J Bay 3 (37). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Z Duke 1. GIDP - J Wilson. Team LOB - 1.


CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Freel cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
B Phillips 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
K Griffey Jr rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Conine 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
E Encarnacion 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A Dunn lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .251
A Gonzalez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
C Moeller c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
K Saarloos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
V Santos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (B Phillips-A Gonzalez-J Conine).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 5 -- 5
CINCINNATI - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
Z Duke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.56

CINCINNATI ip h r er bb so hr era
K Saarloos 0 5 5 5 2 0 1 7.04
V Santos 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.33

K Saarloos pitched to 7 batters in the 1st.

Pitches-strikes: K Saarloos 38-24; V Santos 7-6. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Saarloos 0-0; V Santos 3-0. Batters faced: K Saarloos 7; V Santos 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Sam Holbrook. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Randy
Marsh.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI
CONFIRMED STARTERS: PIT - ZACH DUKE
CIN - KIRK SAARLOOS</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 5 5 5 0
CINCINNATI 0 0 0 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: PIT - ZACH DUKE
CIN - VICTOR SANTOS

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAUTISTA (.259, 0-FOR-0, BB)
C DUFFY (.235, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
F SANCHEZ (.286, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (5) VS CINCINNATI (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Bautista 3b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .259
C Duffy cf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .235
F Sanchez 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
A LaRoche 1b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .204
J Bay lf 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 .299
X Nady rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .224
J Wilson ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Z Duke p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .211

Totals 7 5 5 5 2 0 2

BATTING: 2B - C Duffy (8, K Saarloos). HR - J Bay (7, 1st inning off K Saarloos
2 on, 0 Out). RBI - C Duffy (15), A LaRoche (25), J Bay 3 (37). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Z Duke 1. GIDP - J Wilson. Team LOB - 1.


CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Freel cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253
B Phillips 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
K Griffey Jr rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
J Conine 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
E Encarnacion 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A Dunn lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .251
A Gonzalez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
C Moeller c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
K Saarloos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
V Santos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (B Phillips-A Gonzalez-J Conine).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 5 -- 5
CINCINNATI - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
Z Duke 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.46

CINCINNATI ip h r er bb so hr era
K Saarloos 0 5 5 5 2 0 1 7.04
V Santos 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.33

K Saarloos pitched to 7 batters in the 1st.

Pitches-strikes: Z Duke 9-7; K Saarloos 38-24; V Santos 7-6. Ground balls-fly
balls: Z Duke 2-1; K Saarloos 0-0; V Santos 3-0. Batters faced: Z Duke 3; K
Saarloos 7; V Santos 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Sam Holbrook. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Randy
Marsh.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY FREDDY SANCHEZ SCORED JOSE BAUTISTA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 6
CINCINNATI 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.204, 1-FOR-1, RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 5 1 6 6 0
CINCINNATI 0 0 0 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: PIT - ZACH DUKE
CIN - VICTOR SANTOS

DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: J CONINE (.277, 2 HR, 16 RBI)
E ENCARNACION (.233, 2 HR, 18 RBI)
A DUNN (.251, 12 HR, 28 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (6) VS CINCINNATI (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Bautista 3b 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 .264
C Duffy cf 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .234
F Sanchez 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .286
A LaRoche 1b 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 .202
J Bay lf 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 .299
X Nady rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .224
J Wilson ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Z Duke p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .211

Totals 10 6 6 6 2 1 2

BATTING: 2B - C Duffy (8, K Saarloos); J Bautista (14, V Santos). HR - J Bay
(7, 1st inning off K Saarloos 2 on, 0 Out). SF - F Sanchez. RBI - C Duffy (15),
A LaRoche (25), J Bay 3 (37), F Sanchez (12). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Z Duke 1. GIDP - J Wilson. Team LOB - 1.


CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Freel cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253
B Phillips 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
K Griffey Jr rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
J Conine 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
E Encarnacion 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A Dunn lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .251
A Gonzalez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
C Moeller c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
K Saarloos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
V Santos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (B Phillips-A Gonzalez-J Conine).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 51 -- 6
CINCINNATI - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
Z Duke 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.46

CINCINNATI ip h r er bb so hr era
K Saarloos 0 5 5 5 2 0 1 7.04
V Santos 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.54

K Saarloos pitched to 7 batters in the 1st.

Pitches-strikes: Z Duke 9-7; K Saarloos 38-24; V Santos 23-17. Ground
balls-fly balls: Z Duke 2-1; K Saarloos 0-0; V Santos 4-1. Batters faced: Z
Duke 3; K Saarloos 7; V Santos 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Sam Holbrook. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Randy
Marsh.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ADAM DUNN SCORED JEFF CONINE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A DUNN ON FIRST, E ENCARNACION ON THIRD, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 6
CINCINNATI 1 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: A GONZALEZ (.263, 9 HR, 21 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NL AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
ALEX GONZALEZ HIT INTO DOUBLE PLAY SCORING EDWIN
ENCARNACION.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 6
CINCINNATI 2 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: C MOELLER (.222, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>