Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a pitch from Alexis Díaz (1-4) before Grandal’s seventh homer, which landed in the first row above the Clemente Wall in right field. It was Grandal’s fourth game-ending homer.
“My 3-year-old keeps telling me to hit homers,” Grandal said. “Every time he’s said that, I’ve hit a homer. So he needs to keep telling me the same thing over and over.”
Díaz missed a save opportunity for the first time since May 13, when he gave up two runs in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss to Arizona. It was the first loss for the closer since May 19 at the Dodgers.
“We put ourselves in a position to win,” Reds manager David Bell said.
“Alexis has been through it before, so he’ll bounce back. But obviously, he’s not happy with it, but he has been great in that spot.”
Aroldis Chapman (5-4) got the win in the ninth. Elly De La Cruz reached base with a leadoff single, but Chapman picked him off and then struck out Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits for Pittsburgh, which won three of four games in the series.
“The confidence that he has is really important for our group,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Kiner-Falefa. “I mean, this is a veteran guy that has played in some major markets. … We need that energy in our clubhouse. He stepped right into our clubhouse, has a leadership role, has a ton of energy.”
Cincinnati was behind 2-0 before scoring three runs in the seventh. Noelvi Marte singled and moved to third on Jonathan India’s one-out double off Kyle Nicolas.
