Sal Stewart’s Four RBIs Lift Reds Past Pirates in Wild Friday Affair

There’s a certain poetry to baseball’s unpredictability, and Friday night at Great American Ball Park served as a masterclass in why we keep coming back. The Cincinnati Reds outlasted the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in a game that had all the hallmarks of a summer slugfest, complete with dramatic swings, clutch hits, and the kind of emotional whiplash that makes this sport maddening and magnificent in equal measure.

Let’s cut right to it: Sal Stewart was the story Friday night. The man went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a two-run homer, and four RBIs total. When you’re carrying your offense like that in a one-run game, you’ve earned the right to take a bow. Stewart’s two-run single in the eighth inning, which tied the game at 7-7, set the stage for Cincinnati’s walk-off heroics. That’s the kind of clutch hitting that separates winners from also-rans.

But here’s where it gets interesting: the Pirates absolutely had this game. Nick Gonzales started the party with a two-run single in the first, and the visitors actually built a 7-6 lead by the eighth inning. The Pirates’ lineup showed real juice, with Brandon Lowe going 3-for-5 and Jake Mangum belting a solo shot while adding two more hits. This wasn’t a situation where Pittsburgh phoned it in. They executed, they scored, they fought.

Yet the Reds refuse to go away quietly. JJ Bleday‘s homer in the third and Sal Stewart’s two-run blast in the fourth kept Cincinnati within striking distance. Then, when it mattered most, they found another gear. Emilio Pagan entered with the game on the line and threw a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win. That’s what you want from your bullpen in crucial moments.

Late-Inning Drama Decides a Sloppy Affair

The eighth inning was the turning point. With the Pirates clinging to a one-run lead after scoring twice in that frame, Stewart came through with that clutch single to tie things up. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Stewart came through again, driving in two more runs with another line drive to give Cincinnati the go-ahead run. That’s not luck. That’s a player stepping up when the pressure is highest.

What concerns me about the Pirates is their pitching. Wilber Dotel lasted just 0.1 innings, and the staff couldn’t hold a lead when they had one. You don’t win in August by allowing your opponent multiple opportunities to claw back into a game. Pittsburgh had to feel they should have won this one, and maybe they’re right. But baseball doesn’t reward coulda-woulda-shoulda; it rewards execution. The Reds executed down the stretch. The Pirates didn’t.

Cincinnati Proves Resilience in Comeback Win

What Friday’s victory tells us is that the Reds have the mental toughness to survive a slugfest against a capable opponent. They trailed multiple times and never blinked. They got timely hitting from Stewart, decent work from their closer, and the kind of clutch at-bats that win ballgames in September when everything matters.

For the Pirates, this one stings because they had it. But that’s baseball. You can’t leave outs on the table or let your opponent get second chances. The Reds took theirs, and that’s why they’re heading into August with momentum and the Pirates are heading back to Pittsburgh with regret.