The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on a walk-off Thursday night at Great American Ball Park, with Elly De La Cruz going 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the offense and Emilio Pagán earning the win in relief. The Reds needed all nine innings to put away their NL Central rivals, but they got the job done when it counted most, closing out a tight, competitive division game with a one-run victory.

Rhett Lowder Sets the Tone with Six Solid Innings

Rhett Lowder gave the Reds exactly what they needed from the start. Lowder worked six full innings, striking out five, allowing five hits and two earned runs, and — notably — walking nobody. That zero in the walk column matters. Lowder kept Pittsburgh's lineup off the bases for free and gave the Cincinnati bullpen a clean runway to work with heading into the late innings.

The Pirates did enough damage against Lowder to make it interesting. Brandon Lowe provided Pittsburgh's biggest blow, connecting for a solo home run — one of the two earned runs the Reds allowed on the night. Nick Gonzales added two hits for the Pirates, though he did not drive in a run across his four at-bats.

Reds Bullpen Slams the Door

After Lowder exited, the Cincinnati bullpen took over and delivered. Brock Burke worked the seventh, striking out two while allowing no hits — though he did issue a pair of walks that kept some tension in the air. Tejay Antone followed with a clean eighth, punching out one and yielding just one hit.

Then came Emilio Pagán in the ninth, and he was sharp. He struck out two, allowed one hit, and kept Pittsburgh off the board to hold the game at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth. That set the stage for the walk-off — Cincinnati pushed the winning run across against Gregory Soto, who allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks while recording just two outs in the ninth — and Pagán collected the win for his efforts.

Pittsburgh's bullpen had its own story to tell before the ninth. Yohan Ramírez was effective early, striking out four and allowing just one hit over two innings without surrendering a run. Noah Murdock contributed two innings of his own — three strikeouts, two hits, but three walks and no earned runs — before Mason Montgomery posted a clean inning with two strikeouts. It was Gregory Soto who couldn't hold the lead in the end, taking the loss after surrendering the walk-off run.

De La Cruz and Myers Carry the Offense

De La Cruz was the engine of the Cincinnati offense, racking up three hits and an RBI across four at-bats. His ability to put the ball in play consistently gave the Reds opportunities throughout the night and factored directly into the late-inning pressure that produced the walk-off.

Dane Myers also had a productive night, going 2-for-4 to provide additional support in the lineup. The Reds generated enough traffic against Pittsburgh's pitching staff — Hunter Barco allowed two earned runs and five hits across three innings, walking three — to keep themselves in position to win the game late.

What's Next for the Reds

  • Cincinnati remains at Great American Ball Park to continue this series against Pittsburgh.
  • Rhett Lowder's six-inning, five-strikeout, zero-walk performance Thursday kept the Reds in the game from the first pitch.
  • The bullpen combination of Burke, Antone, and Pagán worked cleanly enough in this one to provide confidence heading into the next several days.
  • Elly De La Cruz's three-hit night is the kind of performance the Reds will need to sustain any momentum in the NL Central.

Walk-off wins are never guaranteed, but the Reds put themselves in position by playing clean baseball behind Lowder and letting their lineup grind out enough hits against Pittsburgh's staff to force the decisive moment. One run. Nine innings. Division game. Cincinnati took it — on a walk-off in the ninth against Gregory Soto.