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PITTSBURGH — The first batter Johnny Cueto faced Wednesday ensured that the Reds starter would not replicate his last outing at PNC Park — a complete-game one-hit shutout on May 11. But his encore was far from disappointing.Cueto recovered from a leadoff home run by Andrew McCutchen in the first inning to allow just two more hits and no more runs in the Reds’ 9-4 win over the Pirates before 20,420 in the rubber match of this three-game series. MLB JERSEYS Mark Hughes is targeting a top-10 finish this season after describing his appointment as Fulham manager as a ‘good fit’. Former Manchester City boss Hughes was speaking at his unveiling on Tuesday after being named as Roy Hodgson’s successor last week.The Reds, who recorded 16 hits Wednesday, have not lost a series since the All-Star break,Cheap Burberry Shoes, and they have not lost a three-game series since June 18-20 at Seattle.”Keep winning series,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said of his club’s key to success. “Hopefully you throw a sweep or two in there somewhere. That’s when you get on a winning streak that we really haven’t — we’ve been playing steady ball, but we got a winning streak coming pretty soon.”
Cueto dazzled through six innings, striking out six. The only two hits he gave up after McCutchen’s blast could have just as easily been ruled errors, as Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips could not snatch singles by Pedro Alvarez and Delwyn Young, respectively.Hodgson left Craven Cottage for Liverpool this summer having masterminded arguably the greatest season in their history, leading them to the inaugural Europa League final. The 24-year-old Cueto improved to 11-2 with a 3.24 ERA on the season, one that has seen him go 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA in four starts against the Pirates.Nine of the right-hander’s 31 career wins have come against the Pirates. His career ERA against them is now 2.88 .”I like pitching in Pittsburgh,” Cueto said with a smile. Cheap MLB Jerseys Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys The Reds’ offense managed nine hits but just three runs off Jeff Karstens, who went five innings and stranded six Cincinnati runners. “I felt like every inning they were putting pressure on me, putting guys on,” Karstens said. “I didn’t have my best control or my best management of the game today. I thought it could have gotten really, really bad with some of the situations that we had, but I was able to minimize it.”
Three Pirates relievers couldn’t do that in the seventh, when the Reds sent nine batters to the plate in a six-run, 28-pitch frame. After a leadoff single from Chris Heisey, Votto and Jonny Gomes each doubled. Laynce Nix tripled after a misplay by McCutchen in center and Paul Janish ripped a three-run homer to left.Votto, bothered by a right wrist sprain earlier in the week, hit a pair of doubles in his first start since Sunday. Janish, now the starting shortstop with Orlando Cabrera on the disabled list, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs.”Two runs is not a big enough lead, under any circumstances.The Spanish striker’s future at Anfield has been a source of speculation during the summer following Liverpool’s failure to qualify for this season’s UEFA Champions League.Anything can happen,” Janish said. “So we were thinking in terms of adding on. But that’s kind of been the common theme all year. We always tend to have one big inning where we keep adding on, and a lot of times it happens with two outs for us, which what Dusty always preaches is the sign of a good team, making stuff happen with two outs.”It was definitely contagious, that’s kind of been our common theme all year long.”
In his first start since getting called up because of Cabrera’s injury, Juan Francisco went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run. Heisey, starting his career-high fourth straight game, recorded his third consecutive multihit performance and scored twice. Gomes also scored twice and went 3-for-4.Ramon Hernandez was the only Reds starting position player to not record a hit, though he added an RBI and a run.”We got some offense out of some guys,” Baker said. “Gomes is swinging the bat well, and Francisco and Heisey continue to swing the bat well.”Phillips was involved in a rare play in the third inning, as he was hit in the left elbow by a 1-2 curveball from Cheap NFL Jerseys From China Karstens. But home-plate umpire Angel Campos did not give Phillips a free pass, ruling that Phillips stuck his elbow out over the plate on purpose in order to get hit. Phillips and Baker argued to no avail, and Phillips went down swinging two pitches later.Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked with big-money bids, while reports have also claimed he could head back to Spain.The 41-year-old Russ Springer came on for Cueto to start the seventh but exited after facing three batters when his backside locked up.
“I didn’t know I had muscles right there,” Springer quipped. “I never had any kind of soreness there or anything. I was a little stiff there earlier in the day, enough where I got it stretched out a little bit today. I don’t know why it was stiff.However, after returning to training following his World Cup winning exploits, Torres confirmed he is not looking to quit Anfield before the close of the transfer window.I warmed up and didn’t think much of it. It was just tight, and then I went out there and it just kind of spasmed, and when it locked up, it locked up. It wasn’t going to change. Cheap Jerseys So we’ll see, hopefully it ain’t no big deal.” Bill Bray replaced Springer and immediately surrendered a two-run home run to Jeff Clement. Alvarez added a solo shot off Nick Masset in the ninth.The win kept the Reds ahead of the Cardinals at the top of the National League Central, a lead they will hold until at least Friday, as both clubs have Thursday off, something Baker’s club will cherish.”It’s nice to have this day off, because we were kind of dragging a little bit,” Baker said. “These 12:35 start times are rough this time of the year, so we have a nice off-day.I’ll tell the guys to enjoy themselves tonight, eat well tomorrow and tonight, and get back on the road Friday.”