Pirates Lose In Cincinnati After Rain Delay

CINCINNATI (AP) — Noelvi Marté robbed Bryan Reynolds of a tying home run in the ninth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Thursday to move within a half-game of the New York Mets for the final NL wild card.  Nick Lodolo tied his career high with 12 strikeouts before leaving with a right groin injury in the seventh.  Marté and Gavin Lux drove in runs, and the Reds (81-78) were positioned to move in into the last wild card spot if the Mets lost at the Chicago Cubs later Thursday. Cincinnati has the tiebreaker over the Mets (81-77) and Arizona (80-78), which played the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Marté used his 6-foot-2 height when he jumped at the 8-foot right-field wall and reached back above the first-row of seats to catch Reynolds’ 348-foot drive for the second out of the ninth. Marté had all three putouts as Emilio Pagán got three straight outs for his career-high 30th save in 36 chances.  Lodolo (9-8) got 27 swings and misses, including 15 on curveballs. He allowed two hits and walked one, leaving due to the injury after 6 1/3 innings and 81 pitches. Lodolo also struck out 12 at Philadelphia on April 8, 2023.