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Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) hits a double in the sixth inning between Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Sept. 24, 2025. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pirates Outlast Reds in Extra Innings

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 10:30 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a late lead to the Cincinnati Reds, but came out on top in extra innings in a 4-3 win at Great American Ball Park.

The Pirates have won four straight games, taking the final two contests vs. the Athletics at PNC Park, Sept. 20-21, and winning the series opener vs. the Reds, 4-2 on Sept. 23, giving them back-to-back series wins.

Pittsburgh improves to 69-89 overall and 25-52 on the road, while Cincinnati falls to 80-78 overall and 44-36 at home.

The game pitted two of the best pitchers in the National League, with Skenes taking on Reds right-hander Hunter Greene.

Both pitchers threw two quick, scoreless innings, before Pirates shortstop Nick Gonzales led off the top of the third inning with a double and moved to third base on a ground out from second baseman Nick Yorke.

Greene made sure the Pirates didn't take advantage of their scoring opportunity, as he struck out catcher Henry Davis and center fielder Oneil Cruz back-to-back.

Skenes himself gave up two hits in the bottom of the third inning to catcher Tyler Stephenson to start out and center fielder TJ Freidl with two outs, but struck out right fielder Noelvi Marte to end the inning.

Right fielder Bryan Reynolds drew a walk from Greene with one out in the top of the fourth inning and then first baseman Spencer Horwitz hit a double down the right field line, past first baseman Spencer Steer.

Reynolds came all the way from first base and scored, putting the Pirates up 1-0, but Horwitz went for third base, but got tagged out.

Skenes threw a scoreless fourth inning, but gave up a leadoff double to Stephenson in the bottom of the fifth inning, which came off the center field wall. He then got a ground out from Reds left fielder Will Benson, which moved Stephenson to third base with one out.

The Reds had a great chance to tie the game up, but Skenes shut them down, striking out both second baseman Matt McClain and Freidl to end the fifth inning, keeping the Pirates up 1-0.

Reynolds hit a two-out double in the top of the sixth inning for the Pirates and then Horwitz came through again, hitting a single and scoring Reynolds to double the lead at 2-0 for the road team.

Greene ended his outing after six innings, allowing five hits, two walks and two earned runs, while posting seven strikeouts for the Reds.

Skenes would finish off his incredible night with a strong sixth inning, capped off by striking out Steer to keep the Pirates ahead 2-0.

He finished with four hits allowed over six scoreless innings, while posting seven strikeouts over 85 pitches in his final start of 2025.

Skenes made Pirates history in this start, with his seven strikeouts giving him 216 strikeouts in2025, the most in a season for a right-handed pitcher in franchise history in the live-ball era (since 1920), passing teammate Mitch Keller, who had 213 strikeouts in 2023, and also the fifth most in a season in the live-ball era.

He also finished his season with a 10-10 record in 32 starts, a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP.

Right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence came in the bottom of the seventh inning. He got two quick outs, before giving up a single to Stephenson, but would strikeout Benson to end the inning and drop his season ERA to 0.54 for the Pirates

Fellow right-handed pitcher Isaac Mattson came on for the Pirates in the bottom of the seventh inning and got two outs, getting McClain line out and Yorke made a great diving stop to get a ground out from Friedl.

Mattson then gave up a big hit to Marte to center field, but Cruz misplayed the out, crashing into the center field wall. Marte took advantage of this and ran all the way home for an inside-the-park home run, cutting the deficit to just 2-1.

Noelvi Marte inside-the-park home run! pic.twitter.com/0OvdR4HPwS
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2025

Cruz stayed in the game, despite the tough crash, and then Mattson walked designated hitter Gavin Lux, which saw Pirates manager Don Kelly bring in closer, right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana, into the game.

Santana would hit Steer, which brought on shortstop Elly De La Cruz, with two Reds baserunners on.

De La Cruz hit a grounder to the middle, but Yorke made a great diving stop, throwing it to Horwitz at first base, who originally slipped, but tagged first base for the final out of the inning.

The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, as Reynolds got hit by a pitch to start out and then both left fielder Tommy Pham and Gonzales walked.

Yorke wasn't able to add onto the Pirates lead, as he flew out to Marte in right field, sending the game into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Jack Suwinski came on for Cruz in center field, as the Pirates took Cruz out due to left ankle discomfort.

Santana struck out third baseman Sal Stewart, but gave up a solo home run to Stephenson, who sent a slider over the middle of the plate 405 feet into the left field seats, tying the game up at 2-2.

TYLER STEPHENSON TIES IT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH! pic.twitter.com/MU8WuPgDzD
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2025

He then gave up a single to Benson, but settled down and struck out McClain and got Freidl to ground out to end the ninth inning, sending the game into extra innings.

Davis led off the top of the 10th inning with a pop out in foul territory, but Suwinski came through with a double, scoring Yorke from second base and giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead.

The Pirates didn't add onto their lead, as third baseman Jared Triolo struck out and Reynolds grounded out.

Right-handed relief pitcher Dauri Moreta came on for the Pirates in the bottom of the 10th inning and gave up a single to Marte, sending Friedl to third base and putting runners on the corners for the Reds with no outs.

Moreta got a fly out from Lux, which was deep enough to score Freidl, tying the game up at 3-3.

He struck out Steer for the second out, but gave up a single to De La Cruz, with Kelly taking Moreta out for right-handed relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez.

Ramírez battled pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar and struck him out on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, as the game moved on into the 11th inning.

Horwtiz got his third hit of the night, leading off the top of the 11th inning with a double, scoring Reynolds from second base and giving the Pirates a 4-3 lead.

Alexander Canario took over as a pinch-runner for Horwitz, but designated hitter Andrew McCutchen hit a ball right to McClain, who then tagged second base for an unassisted double play. Pham would walk, but Gonzales grounded out, giving the Reds a chance to tie or take the lead.

Ramírez struck out Stephenson to start the bottom of the 11th inning, but then walked Benson. He got McClain to fly out in foul territory to Reynolds, but then walked Friedl to load the bases.

He took on Marte, who grounded to Triolo, allowing him to tag third base and give the Pirates a big win.

The Pirates tied up the season series with this win, 6-6, which also proved crucial, as they play spoiler for the Reds, who are competing for the final NL Wild Card spot.

This also marked just the fourth road series the Pirates have won, taking two of three games against the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium, April 22-24, the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, May 26-28, the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Aug. 29-31, and swept the San Francisco Giants, July 26-28.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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