PITTSBURGH -Bronson Arroyo limited Pittsburgh to one run over seven innings and the Cincinnati Reds completed their second sweep of the plummeting Pirates in less than a month, winning 4-1 on Thursday to push the Pirates closer to a 100-loss season.
Joey Votto had a two-run double following Drew Suttons RBI double in a four-run third inning against Charlie Morton (4-9) as the Reds won their eighth in a row against the last-place Pirates. The Reds are 15 games ahead of the Pirates in the NL Central standings after falling behind them following a loss on Aug. 22.
Since then, fourth-place Cincinnati is 21-10 – although it remain only one loss away from a ninth consecutive losing season – and Pittsburgh is 5-25.
At least for the Pirates sake, there werent many spectators. The paid attendance was 15,892, but the turnstile count was about 3,000 as two bad teams and the G-20 summit being staged in downtown Pittsburgh held down the turnout.
Arroyo (14-13) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Francisco Cordero worked the ninth for his 39th save in 43 opportunities.
