PITTSBURGH — While the Pittsburgh Pirates took time to honor the newest members of their Hall of Fame class prior to Saturday’s contest, the current club did little to emulate the trio’s high-level play, stumbling their way through a 10-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.

“We didn’t play good baseball tonight,” manager Derek Shelton said after the loss. “We made baserunning mistakes, we made defensive mistakes, we didn’t play well.”

For the second time in as many starts, right-hander Jake Woodford looked overmatched against the opposition, getting tagged for eight runs, seven earned on six hits and three walks. Woodford’s poor evening started in the top of the first, where he allowed four of the first five batters he faced to score. The Reds tagged him for four more runs in the fourth, leading to his early exit.

"I was fighting myself a lot out there, I think,” Woodford said. “They're a scrappy lineup. They're good. Just wasn't executing enough pitches, wasn't making adjustments quick enough. The line speaks for itself."

Woodford, however, was far from the only problem Saturday evening. The Pirates defense did little to help their pitching staff, committing a pair of errors that led to runs. Another notable blunder in the loss featured a two-run scoring wild pitch thrown by Hunter Stratton. That play hurt the Pirates in multiple ways, as the right-hander sustained a left knee injury covering the plate that caused him to leave the game just four pitches into his outing.

“We had a tough game defensively today,” Shelton said. “That's something we have to do better.”

Ben Heller allowed two more runs to score in the top of the sixth inning, one gaining an extra base thanks to a fielding error from Bryan De La Cruz. The runs allowed ended a streak of four-straight scoreless outings for the right-hander.

While the Reds continually capitalized on the Pirates’ misfortunes, Cincinnati’s starting pitcher Julian Aguiar had little issue keeping Shelton’s lineup under control, surrendering only a pair of runs on three hits and two walks over six innings. The outing was enough for the 23-year-old rookie to earn his first big league victory.

"He got a lead and went right after us,” Shelton said. “We just didn't hit a ton of balls hard."

On the mound

Jalen Beeks provided the Pirates with 1 2/3 innings of competence on the mound, recording five quick outs without allowing a runner to reach base. Beeks entered the game under less than ideal circumstances, coming in with little warning after Stratton’s injury.

But despite the short notice, the left-hander pitched well, ending the Pirates’ disastrous fourth frame before tossing a scoreless fifth that included back-to-back strikeouts. Beeks’ strong showing continued his high-level performance as a Pirate, bringing his ERA in black and gold down to 0.96 (9 1/3 IP/ 1 ER).

"He's done a good job,” Shelton said. “We've normally pitched him in leverage. Today we're in a situation where we lost our starter and then we lost a guy that was going to pitch length for us, so as you saw at the end of the game, we were trying to finish the game. He's been very effective on both right-handers and left-handers."

At the plate

The Pirates’ two runs on the evening came courtesy of one big swing from Rowdy Tellez. Following a leadoff walk from Joey Bart, Tellez connected on a 3-2 sinker on the lower, inside corner, sending it over the Clemente Wall and into the Allegheny River on a hop.

The home run marked No. 11 on the season for Tellez, who tallied just one longball in the first two months of the season. Tellez added to his big night in a unique way in the ninth, coming on to pitch a scoreless frame of relief. The appearance marked the second of his career.

“The home run was a good swing,” Shelton said. “It was one of the few good swings – I don’t know when the last time we had a guy pitch and hit a homer was. But the fact that he saved our bullpen an inning was important.”

They said it

“I think the impressive part of it is he stayed consistent with who he was,” Shelton said when asked about Tellez’s turn from boo target to fan favorite. “He took accountability during the stretch where he wasn’t a productive offensive player and he’s become a productive offensive player. But the fact of the matter is, and I think (media) could attest to it, from what I’ve heard, he never changed with (media), he was the same person. I think it just speaks to his professionalism.”

Injury update

The Pirates issued the following comment on Stratton’s injury after the game:

“Hunter Stratton was removed from this evenings game after sustaining a left knee patella tendon rupture. He is currently being examined by Team Doctors and getting imagining to determine the severity of the injury.”

Up next

Sunday: Reds at Pirates, 1:35 p.m. ET, PNC Park

Probable pitchers: RHP Luis Ortiz (5-4, 3.56) for Pirates; TBA for Reds

Key matchup: Ortiz is 2-2 with a 3.63 ERA (52.0ip/21er) in nine starts this season.

Hidden stat: Ortiz has allowed one or no earned runs in four of his nine starts this season.

Monday: Cubs at Pirates, 6:40 p.m., PNC Park

Probable pitchers: TBA for Cubs; TBA for Pirates

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