Votto power surge leads Reds rally for 9-5 win over Pirates

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto tied the game with his second homer of the night, Eugenio Suarez followed with a go-ahead shot and the Cincinnati Reds rallied from a five-run deficit for a 9-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

Votto tied the game 5-5 against Cody Ponce (0-5) in the fifth with his third homer in his last three at-bats spanning two games before Suarez homered off the top of the left-center field wall.

“I never feel safe in this ballpark,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “With this lineup and their ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark, no lead is safe. They can score a lot of runs quickly.”

Cincinnati's first baseman lined a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning Sunday and walked in his first plate appearance on Monday. He also turned in two diving backhand stops of sharp grounders down the line.

Nick Castellanos drove in three runs with three hits and Kyle Farmer also went deep as the Reds overcame back-to-back homers by Yoshi Tsutsogo and Bryan Reynolds but couldn’t gain on St. Louis in the NL wild card race. The second-place Cardinals beat Milwaukee 5-2 to maintain a three-game lead over third-place Cincinnati.

“Comebacks are going to be necessary, not only with our record but in ballgames," Votto said. "We are going to do it together. We have to take of business. Right now, we’re not where we’d like to be’l

Luis Cessa (5-2) had three strikeouts in 1 2-3 innings to get the win. Lucas Sims, Michael Lorenzen and Mychal Givens combined for four more shutout innings.

Castellanos started the comeback in the third with a ringing, two-run double to center field that missed going out by about a foot. Votto, who hit at least one home run in a franchise-record seven consecutive games in late July, followed with a liner over the right field wall...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Votto-power-surge-leads-Reds-rally-for-9-5-win-16474725.php