CINCINNATI — Over the past seven weeks, while the Pirates bullpen had struggled to find traction, Wil Crowe began to take his season in a different direction, showing signs of consistent production.
After pitching to a 7.12 ERA in his first seven starts, the 26-year-old right-hander the Pirates acquired in the Josh Bell trade had a 3.98 ERA over his past eight, allowing two or fewer runs six times.
As for the rotating door of relievers, only the Diamondbacks (6.56 ERA) were less effective than the Pirates (5.93) during that stretch.
But as the Pirates and Reds opened a four-game series on Thursday at Great American Ball Park, those roles were reversed during a 7-4 Pittsburgh loss.
Crowe encountered a heap of trouble early and gave up seven runs on three homers during a clunker of a start. Despite the huge hole, the bullpen steadied itself, allowing the offense to make a game out of it, although the Reds did enough to leave winners and stay alive in the NL Central race.
The outing for Crowe was tough because it follows what has easily been his best stretch of the season, with Crowe allowing two runs over 11 1/3 innings during his past two starts.
What happened Thursday traces back to the Pirates’ first series of the season here, when they were swept, outscored 30-8 and gave up eight homers. In the past four here, they’ve now been outscored 37-12 while allowing 11 homers.
The Pirates, who are now 1-3 on this road trip and 5-12 in their past 17, have dropped 14 of 17 overall dating back to last season.
Trailing 7-0 and looking lost for dead on the side of Interstate 71, the Pirates began to chip away in the fifth. With runners on second and third, Phillip Evans made it 7-1 with an infield single before Kevin Newman found just enough space through the left side, the ball bouncing off the glove of Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer, allowing another run to score and cutting Cincinnati’s lead to 7-2.
Next came Bryan Reynolds, whose grounder to short allowed Evans to score before Ke’Bryan Hayes, hitless in his previous 19 at-bats, shot a single through the middle on a low fastball to make it a 7-4 game.
It didn’t take long for the Reds to jump in front — six pitches, in fact. Leadoff man Jonathan India battled out of an 0-2 hole and crushed an elevated fastball from Crowe into the upper-deck.
That, though, was merely a warning shot. The Reds brought the heavy artillery in the second, using a pair of three-run homers to break this one open.
They put two on the first time with a single and an error, and third baseman Eugenio Suarez continued his weird season that blended a .176 average with 21 homers and 58 RBIs at first pitch.
Suarez got No. 18 when he hit another mistake pitch from Crowe, another full-count fastball that Suarez drove the other way, over the fence in right-center.
Crowe allowed another single, walked India and got two more outs before feeding first baseman Joey Votto a high-and-inside fastball, which he promptly knocked over the right-center field fence.
To his credit, Crowe gathered himself and gutted it through the fourth. He retired seven of the final eight men he faced, five via strikeout, although obviously the earlier damage can’t happen.
Thursday’s start was certainly one that will bother Crowe, whose inability to find a rhythm early cost him some recent momentum and, ultimately, his team the game. Crowe ultimately gave up seven runs (three earned) over four innings on eight hits, which included a season-high three home runs.
After Crowe exited, Duane Underwood Jr. kept things close with two scoreless innings of relief. Anthony Banda, making his first appearances with the Pirates, worked a 1-2-3 seventh, opening it with a strikeout of Votto.
The play of the game came after Underwood Jr. entered and gave up a single to Farmer. Center fielder Tyler Naquin drilled a long fly ball to center, which looked to be a home run. But Reynolds got to the wall early, sized it up and made a terrific grab, robbing Naquin of the home run.
Hoy Park and Newman led the Pirates offense with two hits apiece. Wilmer Difo had their only extra-base hit, a double in the fifth inning.
