Kang’s grand slam powers Pirates to 5-4 win over Reds

CINCINNATI Tucker Barnhart, the Cincinnati Reds rookie catcher, shot up from his crouch and watched Jung Ho Kang’s sixth-inning line drive climb into the night. After a brief moment, Barnhart turned his head away and punched his right leg in disgust.

Right-hander Keyvius Sampson had left his 2-2 fastball over the plate, and Kang crushed it over the left-field wall at Great American Ball Park for his first career grand slam his 15th home run this season, and his second in as many nights.

Kang’s blast was the pivot point in a 5-4 Pirates win Wednesday and was the team’s first grand slam since Ike Davis hit one against the Reds April 24, 2014. It provided the cushion left-hander J.A. Happ (5-1) would require. He allowed two runs on three hits and struck out 10 over six-plus innings to win his fifth game in a row.

The Pirates (83-55) took two of three games from the last-place Reds (57-81), winning their first series in Cincinnati since a season-ending sweep in 2013 that set up a Pirates-Reds rematch two days later in the National League wild-card game, a contest the Pirates would win, 6-2.

The Pirates remain 41/2 games back of the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals, who rode a three-run eighth inning Wednesday to a 4-3 comeback win against the Chicago Cubs.

Left-hander Tony Watson threw 37 pitches in a rocky eighth, giving up three hits, two walks and two runs, but escaped with a one-run lead. Closer Mark Melancon earned his 44th save this season, second-most in Pirates history.

Brought in at the trade deadline to fill in for injured right-hander A.J. Burnett, who will return Thursday, Happ has posted a 1.78 ERA in seven starts since his Pirates debut Aug. 4. He entered the night trailing only Clayton Kershaw (1.53) and Jake Arrieta (0.36) during that stretch.

“He’s been on a nice run,” manager Clint Hurdle said, typically understated, before the game.

By comparison, Happ’s start Wednesday was downright shabby. In his previous four starts, he allowed just two earned runs over 30 innings, among the best stretches in his nine-year major league career.

Happ’s night started with a flourish. He struck out the side in the first, setting down Billy Hamilton, Ivan De Jesus, Jr. and Joey Votto in order. His 10 strikeouts were tied for second-most in his career, and six came on called third strikes.

On the other side, Sampson (2-4), the third Reds rookie right-hander to go against the Pirates this series, built a surprisingly strong start before Kang brought it crashing down. He allowed five hits and five runs in 51/3 innings. Prior to Wednesday, Sampson had not pitched more than four innings in any of his previous four starts.

Gregory Polanco, who had two hits and scored twice, greeted Sampson with a line-drive double in the first. Starling Marte dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance Polanco, who came home on Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly to center.

Sampson settled in and didn’t allow another hit until the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Reds tied it 1-1 on Todd Frazier’s second-inning home run to center, only the second homer off Happ since he joined the Pirates. For Frazier, the Home Run Derby king in July, it was his 31st home run this season, his sixth against the Pirates.

In the sixth, Polanco singled and stole second, McCutchen walked and Aramis Ramirez singled to left, setting the table. Kang saw five fastballs in a row and blistered the fifth, which missed its spot low and in and flew right down the middle.

Down 5-1, the Reds put two aboard in the seventh, chasing Happ with no outs, and Frazier knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly. The Reds loaded the bases with no outs against Watson in the eighth, and De Jesus’s grand-slam bid ended on the warning track in right.

Votto, who struck out twice against Happ, spiked his helmet after a strike call and was ejected by home-plate umpire Bill Welke, who then tossed Reds manager Bryan Price. It took five men to restrain Votto before he finally stormed back to the dugout.

After another run scored on Brandon Phillips’ groundout, Watson struck out Jay Bruce swinging with the bases loaded to end the marathon eighth inning.

(c)2015 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.