Suárez, Votto homer to help Reds beat Pirates 7-4
CINCINNATI (AP) — Eugenio Suárez and Joey Votto hit three-run homers in Cincinnati’s six-run second inning, powering the Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Jonathan India also went deep and pitcher Sonny Gray helped himself with two hits as second-place Cincinnati gained a half-game on idle NL Central-leader Milwaukee and a full game on San Diego, which has a three-game lead over the Reds for the second wild-card slot. The Brewers lead Cincinnati by seven games. Gray gave up six hits and four runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Jeff Hoffman and Justin Wilson combined for three scoreless relief innings before Mychal Givens pitched the ninth for his first save.