The narrative for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015 has been good starting pitching and Saturday they would hope for more of that from ace Gerrit Cole, as he took the mound looking for his 15th win of the season. The Cincinnati Reds opposed Cole with starter Raisel Iglesias.

The Reds had a win for themselves and not Gerrit Cole on their mind on Saturday night. The Reds jumped on the board first in the second inning when Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen misplayed a ball hit by Marlon Byrd that ended up being a leadoff triple. It looked very possible for McCutchen to dive and catch the ball but he hesitated and the ball ended up rolling to the wall. Eugenio Suarez recorded a sacrifice fly to score Byrd and put the Reds up 1-0 on the Pirates.

The Pirates would exact revenge with a solo homer from shortstop Jung Ho Kang, as he tied the game. The home run, which was Kang's eighth of the year, came in the top of the fourth inning.

The Reds would get a run back quickly, this time from a Eugenio Suarez double that scored Marlon Byrd to make it 2-1 Reds in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Reds would score again in the fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead on the Pirates. Jay Bruce hit his 24th double of the year to score Brandon Phillips for the Reds third run.

In the top of the seventh, the Pirates had Travis Ishikawa pinch-hit for Chris Stewart with runners on the corners and two away. Ishikawa came through with an RBI base hit that scored Neil Walker and chased Iglesias. The lead was cut to 3-2 thanks to the hit from Ishikawa.

The Reds would tack on a fourth run in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to none other than Eugenio Suarez, giving him his third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly. It was 4-2 Reds after the Suarez sac fly.

The Pirates battled hard in the ninth inning against one of the best closers in all of baseball, Aroldis Chapman. Francisco Cervelli singled to score Neil Walker and cut the lead to 4-3. Sean Rodriguez went to third and on the throw to third, Cervelli was able to advance to second. Gregory Polanco battled Chapman and was able to draw a walk. With Starling Marte at the plate and the bases loaded, Chapman was able to get the strikeout and record his 22nd save of the year.

ANALYSIS: The Pirates dropped another game that they did not play fundamentally sound in. The Pirates from time to time have these nights, specifically the miscues by Pedro Alvarez on what could have been a double play ball and McCutchen's misplay on a Byrd fly ball that ended up being a triple. Gerrit Cole still had a quality start and with the way his defense played behind him, he pitched pretty well. Had some plays been made, fewer runs would have been allowed and his numbers would have been better. But that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Jung Ho Kang was good again, showing off some of the pop he has in his bat with his solo homer. Kang has been a spark plug for the Pirates offense and he went out and plated a run again on Saturday. When these guys are clicking, they have to get runners on for Kang with the way he's swinging the bat. Kang is swinging a hot bat as of late, with an average over .400 in his last fifteen games. He was one of the few bright spots from the Pirates offense on this night.

BIG PICTURE: The Pirates have struggled mightily in Cincinnati this year, and Saturday night was not much different at Great American Ballpark. The Pirates did battle and it felt like they may have a repeat of their incredible magic they have worked earlier this year when it comes to trailing late in games. However, they came up probably just a hit short of working that magic. But that's easier said than done against a closer of Chapman's caliber.

The Pirates missed out on a chance to gain some ground on the National League Central division leaders, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals dropped their contest at Busch Stadium with the Colorado Rockies 6-2 on Saturday. However, it's best to look at the glass half full in this situation. If somehow, and somehow is the best word because the Cardinals seem to win almost every single night, the Cardinals lose Sunday the Pirates will have a chance to gain ground. Had the Cardinals won tonight, the Pirates would be 6.5 games behind the Red Birds. If some things go the Pirates way on Sunday and they take care of business, they can cut the lead to 4.5 games.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Pirates left fielder Starling Marte saved the Pirates not just once but twice on Friday night when he threw out Brandon Phillips at home plate and then later made a diving catch to end the game. Saturday, Marte made another spectacular diving catch in the bottom of the first with a runner on to save his starter Gerrit Cole.

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About the author
Brett Blizinski
Brett is a writer that has covered every major sport. He has also had an article featured on foxsports.com after the call-up of Gregory Polanco.