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Saturday, Sep. 9 7:05pm ET
Pirates' streak snapped at eight | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- One inning into Saturday's start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steve Parris looked like he was headed for an early shower rather than his sixth consecutive win. Parris allowed three runs in the first but the Cincinnati Reds came back and won 6-4, ending Pittsburgh's eight-game winning streak. Parris threw 40 pitches in the first inning and got some terse instructions from pitching coach Don Gullett. "He basically told me to get my head on straight and start making some pitches," Parris said. Dmitri Young hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh and Michael Tucker added an insurance run with his 12th homer in the ninth. Danny Graves, the fifth Reds' pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 26th save. Parris (11-14) has won each of his last six starts but this was a bigger battle than most. "I was overthrowing at the start," Parris said. But he recovered and continued an amazing turnaround. "A lot of people were writing me off and I don't blame them," he said. "I was 5-14. But I've faced tougher things that being 5-14. I've had a couple of surgeries and I went back to A ball. Those things were a lot tougher than being 5-14." Young drove a 2-0 pitch from Kris Benson (9-12) over the center field wall after Ken Griffey Jr. got his third single of the game. Benson is headed in the opposite direction from Parris. He's 1-6 since the All-Star break and Manager Gene Lamont thinks he's showing the burden of being the team's No. 1 starter since Jason Schmidt and Francisco Cordova were sidelined with injuries. "We've heaped a lot on him," Lamont said. "It's not easy. You become a real good pitcher when you develop consistency -- not only in the game but also from game to game." The Reds scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to tie the game. Griffey hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the third that saw John Vander Wal prevent an extra-base hit with a leaping catch at the right-field wall. Sean Casey led off the fourth with his 14th home run and Chris Stynes delivered a game-tying single an inning later. Vander Wal and Warren Morris had consecutive RBI doubles in the first and another run scored on Benito Santiago's passed ball. Parris left the game after giving up a one-out double to Vander Wal in the seventh. Pinch hitter Alex Ramirez doubled off reliever Dennis Reyes to drive in the run. Benson worked seven innings, allowing 12 hits with three walks and six strikeouts. The Pirates' streak was their longest since they won nine in a row from Aug. 16-27, 1998. The Reds have won 11 of their last 17 games. Game notesParris hasn't lost a game since Aug. 1, when the Mets beat him 3-2 in New York. His ERA is 2.25 during his winning streak. He had allowed six earned runs in 33 2-3 innings before giving up four in 6 1-3. ... Parris, who was released by the Pirates in 1997, is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts against Pittsburgh. ... Vander Wal has a career-best 10-game hitting streak. ... Benson pitched a one-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 29. He's allowed 13 and 12 hits in his starts since then. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Cincinnati Clubhouse Pittsburgh Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 5 Boston 3
Cincinnati 6
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