Suárez hits 22nd as Reds face roster crunch

CINCINNATI -- Eugenio Suárez is tied for the team lead in home runs, but his status in the Reds' lineup as the regular third baseman is also perilous. Other than homers, Suárez has struggled to hit all season and batted eighth in the order for the first time since 2015 -- his first season in Cincinnati.

During the Reds' 7-4 victory over the Pirates on Thursday night at Great American Ball Park, Suárez delivered a three-run homer during a six-run rally in the second inning. It was his 22nd overall and his fourth in his past nine games. He also has a six-game hitting streak and hits in nine of his past 10 games.

• Box score

"Happy for Geno to get that home run tonight. I mean, he’s got 22 home runs. That’s incredible," said shortstop Kyle Farmer, who had three hits. "If the Venezuelan home run king is hitting eighth, then we’re doing something right, I guess."

But will it be enough for Suárez to stay in the lineup? Mike Moustakas could be back from the injured list in a matter of days, if not hours. Moustakas played third base during his rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville and was back in Cincinnati to work out on the field before Thursday's game. Farmer has since solidified himself -- both offensively and defensively -- at shortstop, the position where Suárez moved to and opened the season to poor results.

That makes it unlikely Suárez would return to shortstop.

Suárez -- who hit a career-high 49 homers in 2019 -- is batting .177/.260/.379 this season with a 70 wRC+ -- a statistic where league average is 100. Asked about him before the game, and what happens when Moustakas returns, manager David Bell was non-committal.

"I’ve been so in the present moment of our games and can’t wait to get guys back," Bell said. "Knowing in the back of my mind, there will be tough decisions on certain days. But we’ve been through this before. It’s always just a positive to add great players into the mix. We’ll figure it out."

With Nick Castellanos activated from the injured list on Thursday, the Reds lineup felt deeper. Even without Castellanos, the offense has been flowing as the club scored five or more runs in 12 of its last 13 games.

• Notes: Castellanos back; Moustakas close

The thump was on display quickly on Thursday. Jonathan India gave the Reds a first-inning lead with a leadoff homer to left field against Pirates starter Wil Crowe.

The big results came in the second inning after Farmer's leadoff single and Tyler Naquin reached on an error. Suárez slugged a 3-2 Crowe pitch to the opposite way in right-center field for a three-run homer and 4-0 lead.

"Even when there’s been times he has struggled, he’s still capable of doing what he did tonight," Bell said. "The big home run. He’s going the right direction, that’s for sure."

Reds pitcher Sonny Gray followed Suárez with an infield hit to the pitcher, and India reached on a four-pitch walk. Joey Votto just missed an RBI double to the right-field corner that hooked foul. But two pitches later in a 2-2 count, Votto launched a three-run homer to right-center field and tied the team lead with 22 homers -- including 10 in his last 11 games.

"It was almost like he made a correction mid-at-bat. Hit the ball good down the line. It seemed on the home run swing, he just stayed through the ball a little bit more," Bell said. "It was almost like you could watch that adjustment during the at-bat."

Gray pitched five innings and allowed four earned runs, six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Pittsburgh scored four runs in the fifth inning -- with three of the RBIs coming on balls that didn't leave the infield. Mychal Givens worked a perfect ninth to seal the win, setting a club record as the 10th reliever to record a save for Cincinnati this season.

Winners of seven of their last nine games, the Reds are a season-high seven games over .500 with a 58-51 record. In the National League Central race, the second-place club moved to seven games behind the idle Brewers. Cincinnati is only 3 1/2 games behind the Padres for the second NL Wild Card spot.

“It was awesome. We scored a lot of runs. That’s what we do," India said. "We can hit as a team. It’s not surprising, but it was a good feeling for us.”