Home runs propel Pirates past Reds on road

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been hitting home runs at a steady pace, but manager Derek Shelton didn’t want to change a thing about their swing, even at the bandbox known as Great American Ball Park.

That didn’t stop the Pirates from taking aim at the short fence in left field, where they hit three home runs.

After Bryan Reynolds put one in the second deck, and Rodolfo Castro and Diego Castillo each homered in the fifth inning as the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3, on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series and a 10-game road trip.

“Bryan got us on the board early, and then we had a couple balls that just got over the fence,” Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show, “but they just got over the fence.”

The Pirates and Reds will play a split doubleheader Tuesday, with right-handers Johan Oviedo starting the first game at 12:35 p.m. and Luis Ortiz making his major-league debut in the nightcap at 6:40.

Pirates starter Bryse Wilson (3-8) allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four in 5 2/3 innings, and the bullpen kept the Reds from scoring the rest of the way.

Wilson used his sinker and four-seam fastball to induce ground balls and pop-ups. He also benefited from a pair of fantastic catches in left field by Greg Allen, who stretched out to rob Aristides Aquino in the second and chased down a Jake Fraley fly in the fourth.

Working with a four-run lead allowed Wilson to concentrate on executing his pitches as he threw 51 of 82 for strikes.

“It’s huge,” Wilson said. “It just gives you a lot more confidence to be able to go out there and go after their hitters — especially when it is six runs like that, it takes a lot of stress off a pitcher.”

Reynolds hit Reds left-hander Mike Minor’s first-pitch fastball 407 feet for his team-leading 22nd home run and a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Aquino gave the Reds a 2-1 lead in the fourth when he drove Wilson’s 1-2 fastball 377 feet to left for a homer.

The Pirates hit Minor (4-11) hard in the fifth, starting with back-to-back singles by Kevin Newman and Reynolds followed by Castro’s 363-foot, three-run homer to left to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead. It was Castro’s seventh homer since being recalled Aug. 9 and his third in the past 10 games.

“We don’t focus too much on that,” Castro said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “We focus more on things we can control, getting a good pitch, connecting well and making it travel.”

Ke’Bryan Hayes reached when Reds second baseman Alejo Lopez booted a grounder, and Castillo hit a 364-foot shot to left with two outs to increase the lead to 6-2. It was the 11th homer for Castillo, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and arrived during batting practice.

“I was just drinking a lot of coffee all day,” Castillo said. “I got here, and I was ready to go.”

Wilson didn’t allow a walk through the first five innings but gave up two in the sixth to load the bases with two outs. Lopez hit a grounder up the middle, a ball Newman fielded behind the bag but lost in the transfer for a single that allowed TJ Friedl to score to cut it to 6-3.

Shelton brought in right-hander Robert Stephenson, who started his career with the Reds, and he got Nick Senzel to fly out to center to escape without more damage then struck out the side in the seventh.

Wil Crowe pitched the final two innings. After getting Lopez to ground into a fielder’s choice to get out of a jam in the eighth, Crowe walked Senzel to start the ninth and gave up a single to pinch hitter Donovan Solano to bring the tying run to the plate.

Crowe gave up a three-run double to Nolan Arenado in the ninth in a 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, but he came through in a 44-pitch outing. He got Jonathan Indian looking at a called third strike on an inside fastball, Friedl to line out to right and Spencer Steer to ground out to third to earn his fourth save.

“We played a good game,” Shelton said. “Bryse did a nice job, gave us five-plus and then Stephenson came in and was really efficient and Wil was able to finish it off. … We had confidence in his ability. He scattered a little bit but was able to finish it off. That’s a good spot for him.”