Vince Velasquez strikes out 10 as Pirates sweep Reds for 7th straight win, move into 1st place

Vince Velasquez reduced his repertoire to essentially two pitches, and his four-seam fastball and slider were so effective the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander produced his best performance of the season.

Velasquez struck out 10 — nine on breaking balls — while tossing a two-hitter over seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds to complete a four-game series sweep and run the Bucs’ MLB-best win streak to seven games Sunday afternoon before 11,372 at PNC Park.

“He was outstanding,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That’s about as good as you can be.”

The Pirates (16-7) moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (15-7), who lost to the Boston Red Sox, 12-5, on Sunday. The Pirates are off Monday before the Los Angeles Dodgers visit Tuesday for a three-game series.

Velasquez (3-2) outdueled Reds starter Hunter Greene (0-1), who combined with Art Warren to throw eight no-hit innings in a 1-0 loss to the Pirates May 15 as Ke’Bryan Hayes scored by beating a would-be double play.

This time, Hayes hit Greene’s first pitch — a 97.7 mph fastball — 387 feet for a double to right-center. Hayes advanced to second base on Tucupita Marcano’s bloop single to left and scored when Andrew McCutchen hit into a 5-4-3 double play to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

“It was really important,” Shelton said. “Hunter Greene is good. The Reds’ starting pitching is really good. In games like this, where the margin of error is going to be so small, you have to take advantage of every opportunity.”

It was the lone run allowed by Greene, who gave up four hits and two walks while striking out six — only to be outdone by Velasquez, who recorded double-digit strikeouts for the sixth time in his career.

Velasquez retired the first seven batters he faced, three by strikeout, before giving up back-to-back walks to Nos. 8-9 hitters Jose Barrero and Luke Maile with one out in the third. Velasquez got Jonathan India to fly out to right and TJ Friedl to hit into a forceout.

The Reds didn’t get a hit off Velasquez until the fourth, when Wil Myers broke out of an 0-for-16 slump with a two-out single to left before Stuart Fairchild grounded out to third. Velasquez was humming by the time he struck out the side in the fifth on 14 pitches, and he credited it to trusting and utilizing the slider in the right sequences.

“I think it’s one of the primary pitches where I can get back in the zone,” Velasquez said. “As much as I love throwing my fastball, it’s more so building confidence with that and utilizing it to my advantage, whether it’s getting a punchout or forcing contact.”

Shelton said Velasquez’s ability to execute the slider on both sides of the plate stood out as he was able to go backdoor against left-handed hitters and throw away from righties.

“He looked like he was in total command the entire game,” Shelton said.

The Reds replaced Greene with lefty Reiver Sanmartin, who walked Rodolfo Castro and Jack Suwinski before getting Ji Hwan Bae looking at a called third strike. Reds manager David Bell brought in right-hander Fernando Cruz to face Jason Delay, whose groundout to first moved both runners into scoring position, before Hayes struck out.

Velasquez’s pitch count was at 90 when Shelton sent him back out for the seventh, believing his stuff still played while knowing he had a full bullpen at his disposal if Velasquez got into trouble. Velasquez completed the inning in 10 pitches, with bookend strikeouts of Myers and Jason Vosler, the latter on a curveball.

The Reds had gone two full games and a stretch of 30 innings without an extra-base hit until pinch hitter Tyler Stephenson hit a one-out double off the Clemente Wall against Colin Holderman in the eighth. Holderman got India looking at a called third strike, then got Friedl to ground out to first to escape unscathed.

The Pirates got a break with two outs in the eighth when a Sanmartin pitch went off Carlos Santana’s bat for a single as he attempted to avoid a pitch. The 37-year-old Santana then stole second base and scored on Suwinski’s double to right for a 2-0 lead.

David Bednar gave up a two-out single to Myers in the ninth, then struck out Fairchild to earn his eighth save and clinch the shutout after a stellar start by Velasquez that earned his manager’s trust.

“I want to go as deep as I possibly can. It’s nice to establish that trust and to continue building on that confidence. It’s also comforting, too, when the manager sits back and relaxes,” Velasquez said. “You give the bullpen and everyone else a day off. You let ‘Holdy’ and Bednar come in and close it out. I don’t think there’s anything better than coming into a game like that, sweeping the series and giving a couple guys days off and then letting the guys on the back end come in and close the job.”