Pirates top Reds 4-3 in 11 innings, prevent Cincinnati from gaining ground in NL wild-card race

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Horwitz hit an run-scoring double in the 11th inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Cincinnati 4-3 on Wednesday night, preventing the Reds from gaining ground in the race for an NL wild card.

The Reds entered Wednesday's action tied with Arizona, one game behind the New York Mets, in the battle for the third wild card. The Mets lost 10-3 to the Chicago Cubs, and the Diamondbacks faced the Los Angeles Dodgers later Wednesday.

The Pirates took the lead in the 11th when Bryan Reynolds scored his third run of the game on Horwitz's double. In the bottom of the inning, the Reds loaded the bases before Yohan Ramirez got Noelvi Marte to ground into a force play.

Pirates starter Paul Skenes allowed four hits and struck out seven in six innings in his final scheduled start of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander, at 1.97, became the first qualified pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 since Justin Verlander in 2022, and at age 23 became the youngest with a sub-2.00 ERA since 20-year-old Dwight Gooden’s 1.53 in 1985. Skenes also finished with 0.95 WHIP and 216 strikeouts.

Cincinnati faced a two-run deficit heading into the eighth inning and used a pair of homers to force extra innings.

In the eighth, Noelvi Marte's drive to center caromed high off the wall and rolled into left-center, and he circled the bases for his first career inside-the-park homer. Then, Tyler Stephenson added a solo homer with one out in the ninth to tie it at 2. Jack Suwinski’s RBI double in the 10th put the Pirates ahead 3-2, but the Reds rallied and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Lux.

Reds right-hander Hunter Greene allowed two runs on five hits in six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Greene topped 100 mph with five pitches and has thrown 295 pitches of 100 mph or more, most among starters and second only to reliever Mason Miller, who began the night with 405.

Stephenson narrowly missed a game-tying home run by inches in the fifth when he doubled high off the center field wall. Skenes struck out the final two batters to strand Stephenson at third.

Skenes recorded his 211th strikeout in the second inning, a single-season franchise record for a right-handed pitcher, surpassing Mitch Keller's 210 in 2023.

Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (4-3, 2.62) and Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (8-8, 3.44) will start Thursday's series finale.