The Pirates got well in Cincinnati, dropping the Reds, 9-2, to stop their six-game losing streak. They did it behind a complete game from Don Robinson, who gave up ten hits and two walks, and also contributed a pair of hits of his own.
The Bucs got on top quickly. Omar Moreno led off the game with a single and stole second, then came around on a triple by Dave Parker. The Cobra scored on a single by Willie Stargell.
Robinson gave one back on a two-out home run by Joe Morgan in the bottom half, but kept the Reds off the board after that until the Pirates knocked out Frank Pastore in the fourth. Their rally came entirely with two out. Rennie Stennett drove in Ed Ott, who’d singled and moved up on a wild pitch. Robinson followed with a single and Moreno tripled in both runners. Tim Foli then got his first Pirate hit, a single that scored Moreno to make it 6-1. Foli had started off 0-for-19 with his new team.
John Milner added two more the next inning, following a double by Pops with his fourth home run. The Bucs’ ninth run came in the ninth on Parker’s second longball of the season. Parker and Milner each finished with three hits. Stennett added a pair of doubles to total three hits as well.
Robinson meanwhile sailed along. From the fourth through the eighth, he allowed just four singles, two of them canceled out by double plays. He gave up another single to start the ninth, but a double play wiped that one out, too. After that, a double and a single gave the Reds their second run, but Chuck Tanner stuck with Robinson and he got a flyball to end it. The win moved his record to 2-1.
