Edinson Volquez, Josh Harrison Help Pittsburgh Pirates Edge Reds In Pitcher’s Duel

Both teams found their offense in the eighth inning on Friday night as the Pittsburgh Pirates came away with a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.

Josh Harrison let his glove do the talking at third base in the earlier frames as he made three diving stops, two of which saved runs and kept the game scoreless.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth with the Pirates (70-64) down 1-0, the 5-foot-8 All-Star hit his seventh triple of the season on a sharp fly ball to right field off Reds reliever Jonathan Braxton that drove home Andrew Lambo.

Braxton allowed the winning run when the next batter, Jose Tabata, singled to left field on a ground ball that scored Harrison. Tabata collected two hits on the night while starting in right field for the injured Travis Snider.

The raising of the Jolly Roger improved Pittsburgh’s record at home to 43-27. Clint Hurdle‘s squad is within three games of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers (73-61) and 1 1/2 behind the San Francisco Giants for the second NL Wild Card spot.

Edinson Volquez pitched very well for the fifth consecutive start, taking a no-hitter into the seventh as he walked three and struck out six on 114 pitches. The 6-foot, 220-pound right-hander gave up only one earned run over 7 2/3 innings of work.

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Volquez’s only misstep came in the top of the eighth when with one out, Billy Hamilton got on board with a single to right field. Then with two out, Brandon Phillips was the second baserunner of the inning when he was hit by a pitch.

Lefty Tony Watson answered the call to the bullpen and surrendered the Reds one run on Devin Mesoraco‘s single to left field that scored Hamilton. Brandon Phillips was thrown out at the plate to end the inning when he also tried to score on Mesoraco’s hit.

Mark Melancon came on in the ninth to close the door on Cincinnati to pick up his 25th save while Watson claimed his 10th victory this season. Pittsburgh’s ERA is 2.15 over their last eight games.

Cincinnati’s Mike Leake held the Bucs scoreless for seven frames as he gave up six hits while throwing 82 pitches. However, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound right-hander struck out only one on the evening.

The middle contest of the three-game series between the Ohio River rivals will be on Saturday at PNC Park, with the first pitch set for 4:05 p.m.

Cincinnati (65-70) will send right-hander Alfredo Simon (13-8, 3.26 ERA) to the hill while Pittsburgh will go with Vance Worley (5-4, 3.14 ERA).

The 27-year-old right-hander will be making his 13th start and 14th appearance of the season on Saturday afternoon. Volquez is 3-3 in his last six starts, and has pitched into the seventh inning in seven of his 12 starts. The game will be broadcast by ROOT Sports Pittsburgh locally and FOX Sports 1 nationally.

From The Clipboard: The Bucs recalled Lambo to provide some depth on the bench with Pedro Alvarez still nursing a sprained left foot and Snider having discomfort in his left hamstring.

Right-hander Gerrit Cole was optioned to rookie-level Bristol to clear a roster slot for Lambo. It is a procedural move and Cole will be recalled on Monday when the roster limit expands to 40, which will allow him to start against St. Louis.