CINCINNATI — Bryan Reynolds extended the longest active hitting streak in the major leagues to 22 games with a two-run home run in the first inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 on Tuesday night.
Reynolds' streak is the longest by a Pirate since 2003 when Kenny Lofton hit safely in 26 straight games. Jason Kendall and Aramis Ramirez had 23- and 22-game streaks respectively.
''Every at-bat's new and different,'' Reynolds said. ''Every pitcher's trying to do something different to you. Just restarts every day.''
It was a rough start for the Reds' Hunter Greene who was evaluated by training staff after throwing up on the mound in the first inning following a six-pitch walk to leadoff batter Andrew McCutchen.
Reynolds followed with his home run on a 3-2 pitch to put the Pirates ahead 2-0.
''Just battling, got to two strikes and fouled off some pitches until I got something to hit,'' Reynolds said. ''I got a slider in the middle.''
Greene (5-3) worked through a three-run, 32-pitch first inning and managed to last four innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
''Nobody really knows (what caused it) but it is a lot of liquid built up in my system,'' Greene said. ''The only way it seems to come out is by vomiting. It just sits on my chest. No one wants to go out and get sick. After that I did a good job of getting ahead of hitters but didn't do a good job of putting them away.''
