CINCINNATI _ The infielders were drawn in, anticipating a play at home plate, when the baseball blasted off Billy Hamilton's bat. Hamilton, the lightning-quick Cincinnati Reds leadoff hitter, connected with right-hander Jameson Taillon's first-pitch fastball and sent it sailing into the Pirates bullpen down the right-field line at Great American Ball Park for a three-run home run.
Hamilton might have been forgiven if he stood still and savored the shot. He did not.
Hamilton's rocket, the most surprising moment in a 7-2 Reds win Wednesday, was his first home run since June 28, a span of 319 at-bats, ending the third-longest active homer-less streak in the majors.
In 60 career games against the Pirates, Hamilton has been a nuisance. Though this was his first home run in the series, Hamilton, a .245 career hitter, has batted .313 against the Pirates.
The Reds (13-14) hammered three home runs. The two off Taillon, who allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings, were of the three-run variety. Eugenio Suarez reached down and yanked a low changeup into the left-field seats in the first, and Hamilton homered in the fourth.
Devin Mesoraco added a solo shot off reliever Trevor Williams in the sixth. It was the Reds catcher's first home run in 117 at-bats since Sept. 23, 2014.
The Pirates (12-15) were punchless against Reds right-hander Rookie Davis, who entered the game with an 11.17 ERA this season. Unable to pitch past the fourth inning in three previous starts this season, Davis threw five scoreless innings Wednesday. He allowed four hits, walked three, hit one batter and managed to strand eight runners over his middle three innings.
That fact might say more about the Pirates hitters than it does about Davis' Houdini-like ability to escape. The Pirates loaded the bases in the second before Gift Ngoepe struck out and Taillon struck a grounder to shortstop. In the third, they had runners on second and third when Josh Bell popped out. The bases filled again in the fourth. John Jaso struck out swinging.
The Pirates' only offense was Andrew McCutchen's two-run home run in the seventh, which snapped the shutout bid but failed to jumpstart a late comeback. The moonshot, measure 432 feet, was McCutchen's fifth home run this season.
For Taillon (2-1), it was one of the poorest outings of his major league career. In five innings, he dealt with a lot of traffic. He gave up eight hits, walked a batter and hit another one. Taillon's ERA rose from 2.08 to 3.31. He has not pitched through the sixth in any of his past three starts.
