The Pirates opened their two-game home series against Cincinnati with a 14-6 drubbing of the Reds. The Bucs pounded out 16 hits and Specs Meadows picked up his 15th win.
The Reds’ standout starter, Dolf Luque, didn’t last long. The Pirates picked up a pair of unearned runs in the first when an error by third baseman Babe Pinelli on a grounder by McInnis left two on with nobody out. Kiki Cuyler drove in one run with a single and Barnhart brought home another with a sacrifice fly.
The home team finished Luque off in the second. Eddie Moore and Johnny Gooch started the inning with doubles. Gooch got thrown out at third on a grounder by Meadows, who took third on a double by Max Carey. McInnis singled to drive in both runners and drive Luque out in favor of Jakie May. A single by Cuyler and a deep fly by Barnhart put the runners in scoring position, and Pie Traynor drove in both with a single to left, knocking May out of the game. That left the Pirates up, 7-0.
Cincinnati got back in the game in the top of the fourth, with the help of a defensive miscue. The Reds loaded the bases with two out and pinch hitter Elmer Smith doubled to drive in two runs. Billy Zitzmann then grounded to Traynor and the third baseman threw wildly to the plate, letting two runs score, although Zitzmann was credited with a single.
The rally left the Pirates up, 7-4, and the Reds added another run in the top of the sixth. With two out, Meadows gave up singles to Smith — who’d stayed in the game — new pitcher Rube Benton and Pinelli to make it 7-5. The Pirates got that run back in the bottom of the seventh when McInnis tripled and Barnhart singled him home.
In the eighth, the Bucs put the game out of reach. Moore started the inning with a triple and Gooch walked. Singles by Meadows, Carey and McInnis each drove in a run, and the last one knocked Benton out in favor of Neal Brady, the Reds’ fifth pitcher of the day. Brady got past Cuyler, but Barnhart tripled to score two, then came home on a sacrifice fly by Traynor. The six runs made the score 14-5.
The Reds picked up a meaningless run in the ninth on a two-out single, an advance to second on defensive indifference and another single. Meadows survived a dozen hits to go the distance, leaving his record at 15-7. Barnhart drove in four runs, while McInnis went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBIs. The Giants swept a doubleheader from Brooklyn. That moved them to within four games of the first-place Bucs, who finish their 19-game home stand against the Reds tomorrow.
