Bronson Arroyo limited Pittsburgh to one run
over seven innings and the Cincinnati Reds completed their second
sweep of the plummeting Pirates in less than a month, winning 4-1
on Thursday to push the Pirates closer to a 100-loss season.
Joey Votto had a two-run double following Drew Sutton's RBI
double in a four-run third inning against Charlie Morton (4-9) as
the Reds won their eighth in a row against the last-place Pirates.
The Reds are 15 games ahead of the Pirates in the NL Central
standings after falling behind them following a loss on Aug. 22.
Since then, fourth-place Cincinnati is 21-10 - although it
remain only one loss away from a ninth consecutive losing season -
and Pittsburgh is 5-25. Five more losses by the Pirates will give
them 100 on the year.
Pittsburgh, long since assured of a record 17th consecutive
losing season, has lost six in a row, nine of 10 and 23 of 26 amid
the franchise's worst September spinout since it was 5-22 in
September 1998.
At least for the Pirates' sake, there weren't many spectators.
The paid attendance was 15,892, but the turnstile count was about
3,000 as two bad teams and the G-20 summit being staged in downtown
Pittsburgh held down the turnout.
The crowd was so small that the Pirates closed PNC Park's upper
deck for the first time since the 38,362-seat ballpark opened in
2001 and allowed fans to sit in the lower level.
Parking lots near PNC Park were open, but the Pirates said
frequent warnings about how difficult it would be to travel into
Pittsburgh during the two-day summit clearly affected attendance.
PNC is located on Pittsburgh's North Side, across the Allegheny
River from downtown.
The smallest crowd at PNC Park, in terms of actual turnout, is
believed to be the estimated 500 who watched an Astros-Pirates
afternoon game on Sept. 28, 2006, that was delayed by heavy rain
for 3½ hours.
While thousands of demonstrators are believed to be in
Pittsburgh for the G-20, there were no security issues at PNC Park,
although all spectators went through metal detectors or were
screened while entering the facility.
Arroyo (14-13) didn't need much help as the Reds finished off a
three-game sweep in which they outscored the Pirates 26-7. He
allowed only a Lastings Milledge homer in the seventh while giving
up five hits, striking out four and walking one.
Arroyo, a former Pirates pitcher, has lasted at least seven
innings in all 11 starts since Aug. 1, although his effectiveness
is not reflected by his 4-3 record during that stretch.
As military helicopters brought to town for the G-20 buzzed
across PNC Park in the ninth inning, Francisco Cordero finished up
for his 39th save in 43 opportunities despite giving up two hits.
NOTES: Votto is 13 for 25 in his last six games. ... Arroyo
allowed one run in 15 innings in two starts this season against the
Pirates. He pitched eight innings during a 4-0 victory on May 1.
... The Pirates are five losses away from their third 100-loss
season in 55 years and their first since they were 62-100 in 2001.
... The Reds swept a four-game series from the Pirates in
Cincinnati from Aug. 31-Sept. 2. ... The Pirates are 3-18 in
September.
