Reds Beat Pirates With Walk in 10th

Bill Landrum walked Bo Diaz with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning this afternoon to hand the Cincinnati Reds a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Landrum, 0-1, allowed a two-out single to Paul O’Neill, then walked Todd Benzinger and Rolando Roomes to bring up Diaz, hitting just .150 with one RBI.

Diaz took four straight balls from Landrum to force in O’Neill with the winning run and give John Franco, 1-0, his first win since last Aug. 30.

Reds starter Jose Rijo, who had won four straight, allowed just two hits over the first six innings and singled home the run that put the Reds up 4-3 in the fourth.

Rijo Strikes Out 10

But he walked Sid Bream to lead off the seventh. Pinch-runner Gary Redus stole second and scored on Benny Distefano’s two-out pinch-hit single to tie it.

Rijo struck out a season-high 10 and allowed just three hits over seven innings. The Reds have won all nine of his starts this season.

Roomes put the Reds ahead 2-0 with his first major-league homer in the second off John Smiley. Diaz followed with a double and scored on Chris Sabo’s single to make it 3-0.

Cincinnati reliever Rob Dibble pitched out of a threat in the top of the ninth by striking out pinch-hitter Glenn Wilson and getting Jose Lind to hit into a force at second with the bases loaded.