Mahle K's 10 as Reds grind out 5th straight W

CINCINNATI -- It's been a second half, a homestand, and especially, a series vs. the Pirates where the offense was most often in the driver's seat for the surging Reds. But as Cincinnati finished off Pittsburgh on Sunday with a 3-2 win for the four-game sweep at Great American Ball Park, it was starting pitcher Tyler Mahle who took control of the game.

Mahle struck out 10 batters over seven innings without a walk and allowed two earned runs and six hits. The offense scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

• Box score

"Not that we haven’t been playing close games, but there have been more runs lately. Today was a different type of game. Every play mattered," Reds manager David Bell said. "Tyler Mahle, in some ways, was the player of the game the way he right from the beginning used all his pitches."

As it gets to be late summer, the Reds are clicking at the right time. They have won five straight games and 10 of their last 12 to reach 10 games over .500 at 61-51. Cincinnati is unbeaten in its last five series (4-0-1) and its 22 wins since July 1 are tied with the Phillies for most in the Major Leagues.

However, the Reds still trail the first-place Brewers by five games in the National League Central race and remained 2 1/2 games behind the Padres for the second NL Wild Card berth.

"We've got clubs in front of us, so without stretches like this, we're not going to have a chance," Reds first baseman Joey Votto said. "We're not leading the division and we're not in the Wild Card yet, so it's going to take a lot of wins. We feel good, but we know we have a lot of work to do and teams have been better than us so far this year. It's our responsibility to finish these last 50 games strong. I like our lineup. I like our pitching. We're making progress for sure."

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After they finished the homestand 5-1, the Reds begin a challenging road trip. Including Sunday, they play in three different cities over three days. On Monday, they have a makeup game at Cleveland, followed by a three-game series at Atlanta that opens Tuesday. The trip ends with three games at Philadelphia.

With the Mets sinking in the NL East, the Phillies assumed first place and the Braves are second.

"From a travel standpoint, we just have to be smart and take great care of ourselves," Bell said. "Good teams we’re going to be playing, but that’s OK. That’s what we expect the rest of the way. I think we welcome that. We know what it takes. Guys are focused and know what we need to do.”

Even though the Pirates are in last place, Sunday's game was a good momentum keeper.

Down, 1-0, after Mahle allowed a run in the top of the fourth inning, Cincinnati responded with a three-run bottom of the fourth against Pirates starter Bryse Wilson. With Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos in scoring position on back-to-back doubles, Votto lined a 109.4 mph RBI single off the right-field wall for the tying run.

Votto noted that teammate Shogo Akiyama scolded him for not getting extra bases.

"He said ... 'You've got to run out of the box!' I said, 'You're absolutely right,'" Votto said. "I thought it was hit well, but I didn't gun it out of the box, and I missed an opportunity to at least try for a double. I probably wouldn't have gotten a double, but his message was clear and he was absolutely right."

Tyler Stephenson's fielder's choice grounder scored Castellanos with the go-ahead run. Kyle Farmer continued his hot-hitting ways with an RBI double to right-center field that scored Stephenson from first base.

Mahle kept the game under control and struck out every member of the Pirates starting lineup -- except Gregory Polanco -- at least once. Until the sixth inning, there was barely anything that could be considered hard contact. Ke'Bryan Hayes led off that inning with a home run to center field that Statcast tracked at 102.7 mph off the bat.

"That goes with just executing pitches and not having to throw up some freebies," Mahle said. "You get into a full count a lot and you have to be in the zone with stuff and careful with stuff. That’s when hard contact happens and stuff like that. We were pounding the zone and got guys to have some soft contact."

Bell gave Mahle the seventh inning, and he retired the side in order. As part of the revamped bullpen, Michael Lorenzen pitched a scoreless eighth and Mychal Givens worked a perfect ninth for his second save.

The Reds have scored 128 runs since the All-Star break, most in the Majors. The rotation went 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA on the homestand.

Votto sensed that the Reds have the type of personnel -- up and down the roster -- in place to make such a run.

"There's a level of professionalism that's really refreshing. Not only is it enjoyable to play with them, but you also have a tendency to learn from them," Votto said. "Today Shogo said something to me that I thought that he kind of called me out on. Shogo's an outstanding veteran Japanese player with tons of accolades. He gave me feedback. That's the sort of atmosphere that I feel like I've always thrived in."