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CINCINNATI -- The caveat, of course, is that the season is barely a week old. But, someone forgot to tell the Cincinnati Reds that this is going to be a rebuilding year. "We believe in 'You never know,'" said right fielder Jay Bruce. "It's the first six games of the year. It's not make or break. But it beats losing."
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Bruce's triple in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Brandon Phillips from first base to lift Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
Despite inclement weather most days and several newcomers making their debuts, manager Bryan Price's club has won five of six and could be unbeaten had it not been for blowing a three-run lead in the eighth inning on Friday.
"It's been challenging for these guys and they've stepped up," said Price. "We know things aren't always going to go as smoothly as they have this week."
Phillips led off the ninth with a single. Two batters later, Bruce ripped a pitch from Arquimedes Caminero (0-1) to right, and Phillips raced home with the winning run.
"I think it broke my bat with a cutter (or) slider," Bruce said, of Caminero's pitch.
Ross Ohlendorf (2-0) earned the victory for Cincinnati.
The key play in Sunday's game came with the score tied 1-1 with two outs in the eighth when Josh Harrison was thrown out at home by left fielder Adam Duvall when Harrison attempted to score on John Jaso's single.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle requested a review of the tag and not collision rule 7.13 to determine whether catcher Devin Mesoraco illegally blocked the plate.
"If you challenge the blocking rule, they can't look at the tag," Hurdle said.
Jaso's single was the only hit the Pirates had with a runner in scoring position on Sunday. They were 1-for-14 in that situation.
"At the end of the day, the game's over," said Harrison. "We had our chances."
Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez continued his torrid pace at the plate with three hits, including a game-tying homer in the sixth.
Pirates catcher Chris Stewart homered in his first plate appearance of the season and starter Jeff Locke allowed a run over six innings.
Right-hander Tim Melville made his major-league debut for Cincinnati (5-1) on Sunday.
Hurdle said Melville's walk rate of four per nine innings was brought up during their pregame hitters meetings.
The Pirates (4-2) were patient against the rookie in the first inning, drawing three walks to load the bases.
"I realized it wasn't a dream anymore, I'm here," Melville said, of his first-inning nerves. "I had to compete."
On Melville's 37th pitch, Harrison grounded into an inning-ending force play.
"We'll move on from it," said Harrison. "Next time, when we get some runners on, we'll score them."
Cincinnati loaded the bases against Locke in the bottom half but also did not score.
There were 20 combined runners left on base Sunday.
"You can look at it another way and say it's great pitching with men on base," said Price.
Stewart made the most of his first at-bat of the season with a solo home run with one out in the second to put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0.
Despite a hefty pitch-count, Melville was able to minimize damage by stranding runners at third in each of his four innings, finishing with one run and five hits allowed with four walks and five strikeouts.
While Melville was laboring through his first career start, Locke cruised through four innings by giving up five hits.
Duvall doubled to lead off the fifth and advanced to third on right-hander Dan Straily's sacrifice bunt, but Locke retired the next two batters. Straily made his first appearance in a Reds uniform and struck out three over three scoreless innings.
Suarez's solo homer to right-center, his fourth of the season, tied the score 1-1 in the sixth.
"It surprises me that I've been hitting a lot of home runs," Suarez said. "That's a good thing. I've been focusing on putting a good swing on the ball and using all fields."
NOTES: Reds manager Bryan Price said he wouldn't rule out RHP Anthony DeSclafani being ready for his next turn in the rotation but says he is still experiencing tenderness in his hamstring. DeSclafani is due to throw a bullpen on Wednesday in Chicago. ... Pirates C Chris Stewart started behind the plate on Sunday in place of Francisco Cervelli, something manager Clint Hurdle says will often be the case with the volume of day games upcoming. ... The Reds designated 1B Brandon Allen for assignment and selected from Triple-A the contract of RHP Tim Melville, who started Sunday against the Pirates.
