Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature: 77°
Umpires: Home - Gerry Davis, 1B - Manny Gonzalez, 2B - Greg Gibson, 3B - Phil Cuzzi
Attendance: 19620

Reds 5, Pirates 3: Brandon Phillips homered, doubled and drove in two runs as host Cincinnati sent reeling Pittsburgh to its fifth consecutive loss.

Scott Rolen also homered in his return to the lineup after missing five games to lift the Reds to 29 games over .500 (86-57), matching their season high, and extend their lead atop the National League Central to 10 1/2 games.

Mike Leake (8-9) went seven solid innings, giving up three runs on nine hits. Logan Ondrusek and Sean Marshall worked the eighth before Jonathan Broxton earned his first save with Cincinnati.

Gaby Sanchez belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer and Alex Presley had a solo blast for the Pirates, who fell to 9-22 in their last 31 games and remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot.

Pittsburgh starter Kevin Correia (10-9) went six innings and allowed four runs - three earned - and seven hits to fall to 7-3 lifetime against Cincinnati.

After Presley and Phillips traded first-inning solo homers, the Reds went ahead with three runs in the second. Phillips doubled home the first run before a wild pitch and error on catcher Mike McKenry plated two more for a 4-1 lead.

Sanchez got the Pirates back in the game in the seventh, drilling a 3-2 fastball off Leake deep to left field to narrow the deficit to 4-3.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Reds closer Aroldis Chapman will be shut down for at least a couple of days and as many as five to seven days due to a tired shoulder. Chapman's velocity was down considerably in Monday's outing and he saw a string of 27 straight saves halted in his previous appearance. ... Presley's first-inning homer was his sixth hit and second homer off Leake in 10 career at-bats. ... Rolen's homer was his seventh of the year and first since Aug. 15. ... Pittsburgh has 91 homers on the road this year, the third-highest total in franchise history. ... Phillips and Pirates reliever Jared Hughes cleared the air during a conversation Tuesday. The two exchanged words after Phillips was hit by a pitch Monday night, and Phillips later tweeted that he was angered by a racist remark without naming a specific player. Phillips termed it a "big misunderstanding." ... The Pirates have been scored upon in the first inning in 59 of 141 games this season.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Pittsburgh   Cincinnati
Kevin Correia Player Mike Leake
Loss W/L Win
6.0 IP 7.0
2 Strikeouts 3
7 Hits 9
4.50 ERA 3.86
Hitting
Pittsburgh   Cincinnati
Clint Barmes Player Mike Leake
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 2
1.000 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Pittsburgh 11 2 20 .324 13 5 3 1 0 1
Cincinnati 9 2 16 .281 13 3 3 3 0 0