3 takeaways from Bucs' comeback win in G1

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates staged a late-game rally off the Reds' bullpen, scoring four runs in the eighth to take the first game of a Memorial Day doubleheader, 8-5, on Monday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

Facing right-handed reliever David Hernandez, Cole Tucker, who entered the game in the seventh inning as part of a double switch, hit a one-out double in the eighth. Adam Frazier was hit by a pitch, and Bryan Reynolds broke the 4-4 tie with a triple -- the first of his career -- to left field.

• Box score

Starling Marte followed that with an opposite-field two-run homer to cap the big inning and give Pittsburgh breathing room for the first time, after a lot of back and forth over a nearly four-hour affair.

"We just didn't back down -- we just kept playing," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We've done it all year. Sometimes the results are different. It's never from a lack of effort, and we're throwing everything we've got at them. Today was just another example, from multiple places in the lineup, from multiple pitchers. A strong effort."

Here are three takeaways from an action-packed Game 1:

1) Bell homers, again
First baseman Josh Bell, who is having a National League MVP Award-worthy season and has put together a month of May that rivals some of the more celebrated hitters in Bucs history, broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh with his 17th home run of the season. Distance-wise, it wasn't one of his more impressive long balls, but it got the job done -- even if he and his teammates had to wait a while to see if it would clear the fence.

"I had to hold my breath for a little bit for a while, but I was happy to get it out," Bell said.

Bell's homer off Amir Garrett left the bat at 96.4 mph, had a launch angle of 38 degrees and hung up for six seconds before finally landing just over the left-field wall. Official distance, per Statcast: 350 feet.

Pretty or not, they all count, and Bell's homer represented a continuation of what has been sheer dominance this month. Bell's May performance is teetering on historic -- with 11 homers, he needs one more to tie Jason Bay (2006) for the most hit by a Pirates player this month. He was already leading all Major Leaguers this month with 26 RBIs before Monday's doubleheader began.

• Game 2: Mitch Keller shows promise in debut after shaky first inning

2) Taking advantage
Timely hitting contributed to this win, but so did a poor showing from the Reds’ defense, which allowed the Bucs to stay close and eventually tie it in the sixth.

The unraveling began when first baseman Joey Votto dropped an easy throw from Derek Dietrich that should have completed a double play. Instead, the Pirates had runners at first and third with one out.

Cincinnati's next blunder arrived seconds later, when shortstop Jose Iglesias fielded an easy grounder by Kevin Newman and instead of taking the safe route and throwing to first, opted for a flashy behind-the-back flip to second.

Dietrich had to jump in the air to make a barehanded catch, pulling him off the bag. No outs were recorded. Melky Cabrera scored, and the Bucs were within a run of tying it up.

"I mean it’s so rare, you don’t even want to put any life toward that," Reds manager David Bell said of the plays that went wrong. "José … I'm surprised he didn’t make that play. He makes every play. He makes them in such a free way that you just never ever want to think about taking that away from him.”

The inning continued when pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco, facing Garrett, sneaked a base hit down the third-base line, tying the game at 3.

3) Big K
The Pirates had more control over their fortunes later, and they delivered. In the eighth, facing Kyle Crick, the Reds loaded the bases behind a Jesse Winker double and walks to Iglesias and Peraza. Hurdle called for lefty Felipe Vázquez to face Nick Senzel, who had singled and doubled earlier in the game.

With two outs and the count 3-2, Vazquez threw a 98 mph fastball up and out of the zone. Senzel swung and missed.

That confrontation, according to Vazquez, involved more luck than strategy.

"I was just trying to throw the ball around the zone," Vazquez said, noting that after a long layoff, he had little command of his breaking stuff. "That ball was not around the zone and he swung at it. And I was happy. I got lucky with that one."