CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–3 in 11 innings Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park, a gutting result in their late push for a National League wild-card berth. 

What looked like a tightly fought duel between aces Paul Skenes and Hunter Greene turned into heartbreak for the home team. The Pirates, long eliminated from playoff contention, played spoiler — and did so in dramatic fashion. 

Pitching Duel, Comebacks & Missed Chances

Cincinnati turned to Hunter Greene (7–4, ~2.74 ERA) to take on Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (10–10, ~2.03 ERA).  From the outset, both pitchers were sharp. Greene carried the Reds well into the late innings, allowing two earned runs over six innings with five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.  Skenes, meanwhile, fired six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out seven.  His final regular-season ERA dropped to 1.97, making him the first qualified pitcher this year to finish with an ERA under 2.00. 

Pittsburgh struck first in the top of the 4th, when Spencer Horwitz doubled in a run off Greene. They added another in the 6th with an RBI single. 

But Cincinnati responded late. In the 8th, Noelvi Marte belted an inside-the-park home run, his first of his career, to cut the lead.  Then, in the 9th, Tyler Stephenson crushed a solo homer — his fourth hit of the night — to tie the game at 2–2 and send the game to extra innings. 

In the 10th, Jack Suwinski doubled home the go-ahead run for Pittsburgh. But the Reds rallied immediately: a Gavin Lux sacrifice fly following a Marte single tied it up again. 

Finally, in the 11th, Horwitz came through again with a decisive RBI double, scoring Bryan Reynolds for the win. The Reds loaded the bases in their half but couldn’t deliver; Yohan Ramírez induced a force grounder to end it. 

Postgame Reactions & Setting the Tone

“It hurts tonight, but we better get over it in a hurry,” said manager Terry Francona, his voice tinged with urgency. “When you’re that close, it’s raw. It just happened. But we need to bounce back in a hurry.”  He also acknowledged the second run by Pittsburgh: “That hurt a little bit, but I thought Hunter threw the ball very well, and we knew Skenes would.” 

Catcher Tyler Stephenson, who delivered the clutch 9th-inning blast, called it “a heartbreaker.” “That one stung,” he said. “Where we’re at, we’ve got to flush and be ready to come out and play tomorrow. It’s really all we can control.” 

After the game, Gavin Lux reflected on missed chances. “We had some chances to score,” he said. “They made some nice plays on a couple of different balls. I thought we had a chance to get an extra hit there.” 

On the other side, Pirates manager Don Kelly praised his team’s ace. “What a game … starting with Paul and the way that he went out. What a start today and what a season he’s had. He just did what Paul does.”  And Skenes himself, reflecting on the atmosphere, said, “The atmosphere was just electric … Hopefully we have that in Pittsburgh next year.” 

Reds pitcher Brady Singer looked ahead: “Just come out tomorrow and play our game,” he said. “Obviously, we know we’ve got to win. We kind of control what we can.” 

What This Means: Wild-Card Picture & Final Push

The defeat drops Cincinnati to 80–78, leaving them one game behind the New York Mets (81–77) for the final NL wild-card spot. The Arizona Diamondbacks are also at 80–78, meaning the Reds remain in playoff contention but likely need perfect outcomes in all remaining games—and help from other teams. 

Cincinnati’s performance in extra innings has been a recurring problem this season: they entered this game 3–12 in extra-inning contests. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates, finishing the season at 69–89, at least leave their mark with a win over a playoff hopeful. Spencer Horwitz finished with three hits and three RBIs; Skenes delivered another gem to cap his season in style.