Pirates Complete Sweep of Reds in Epic Pitchers’ Duel; Cruz Comes Through
Photo provided by Matt Lynch PITTSBURGH — An epic pitchers’ duel between Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft and the Reds’ Chase Burns wasn’t settled until both pitchers were out of the game, with Pittsburgh defeating Cincinnati 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. With the win, the Pirates (19-16) completed the weekend sweep of the Reds (20-14). Scoring Plays Bottom 8th, 1-0 PIT: The scoreless tie was finally broken when Oneil Cruz delivered a two-out RBI single to center field off Tony Santillan (1-1).
Konnor Griffin, who doubled high off the center field fence, raced home to score. ON THE BOARD IN THE 8TH! …wait for the bullpen's reaction 😂 pic.
twitter. com/1FmHrSRoRC — Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 3, 2026 Key Moments The Reds had runners on second and third with one out in the eighth following Jose Trevino double off Braxton Ashcraft. Matt McLain hit a tapper to third baseman Nick Gonzales, who threw home to retire Spencer Steer, who broke from third on a contact play.
The Pirates then brought in Gregory Soto (3-0) from the bullpen, and the left-hander struck out TJ Friedl on a 3-2 pitch for the third out of the inning. Player of the Game Braxton Ashcraft worked a career-high 7. 2 innings and scattered four hits.
He walked a pair of batters, struck out six and needed only 82 pitches to get through his outing. Stat to Know The Pirates improved to 46-21 (. 687) against the Reds at PNC Park since the start of the 2018 season.