Pirates mount largest comeback in franchise history to hand Reds crushing loss in wild-card race

The Reds squandered a 9-0 lead on Saturday

On Saturday night, the Cincinnati Reds lost a 9-0 lead against the Pirates, thereby ending their chances of making the postseason. The game ended in a 13-12 loss for the home Reds. It’s Pittsburgh’s biggest comeback in the 133-year franchise’s history.

A 9-0 advantage was preserved by the Reds after the third inning. But soon after, the Pirates started a calculated comeback for the ages.In the fourth, they scored just one run. The Pirates scored five runs in the sixth, three of them on Bryan Reynolds’ 23rd home run of the year. Alfonso Rivas’ bases-clearing double in the seventh inning brought the Buccos all the way back.

That nine-run margin is equal for the biggest blown lead in Reds franchise history, including the history mentioned above. They last reached this benchmark in 2004.

Before the Reds tried to mount their own comeback, the Pirates would go on to score 13 runs without being answered. The Reds scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth, down 13-9, then another run in the ninth. Elly De La Cruz struck out and Jonathan India flied out to end the threat and the game, respectively, in the ninth inning, when the Reds had the tying run on third base with one out.