CINCINNATI (Interstat) — In a game defined by stellar starting pitching and late-inning drama, Spencer Horwitz delivered the decisive blow with an RBI double in the top of the 11th inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park.

The win, played before a crowd of 30,725, gave the Pirates their second consecutive victory in the series and improved their record to 69-89. The Reds, who saw their postseason hopes officially extinguished with the loss, fell to 80-78.

The contest was a classic pitcher’s duel for seven innings, featuring a marquee matchup between two of the National League’s premier arms. Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene were both dominant, each allowing just two runs while striking out seven over six innings of work.

Skenes was particularly sharp, scattering four hits and walking none. The Reds managed only one runner to reach second base against him, a Tyler Stephenson double in the fifth inning that was left stranded. Greene was nearly as effective for Cincinnati, surrendering five hits, but the Pirates capitalized on their limited opportunities.

Pittsburgh struck first in the fourth inning. Bryan Reynolds worked a one-out walk and scored when Spencer Horwitz laced a double down the right-field line. Horwitz was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple, but the damage was done.

The Pirates added to their lead in the sixth. Reynolds sparked the rally again, this time with a double to center field. Horwitz followed with a sharp single to left, plating Reynolds to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 advantage.

The game turned in the late innings as the Reds’ offense finally came to life against the Pirates’ bullpen. In the bottom of the eighth, Noelvi Marte ignited the Cincinnati comeback with a stunning inside-the-park home run, a deep fly ball to left-center that eluded the outfielders and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Cincinnati drew even in the ninth on a solo home run by Tyler Stephenson, his fourth hit of the night, which sailed over the wall in left-center field. The Reds threatened to walk it off later in the inning, putting a runner on base, but could not convert.

The back-and-forth affair continued into extra innings. In the top of the 10th, the automatic runner, Nick Yorke, scored on a ground-rule double by pinch-hitter Jack Suwinski to put Pittsburgh back in front, 3-2.

The Reds, however, had an immediate answer in the bottom of the frame. TJ Friedl, the automatic runner, advanced to third on a single by Marte and then scored easily on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Lux to tie the game at 3-3. Cincinnati loaded the bases later in the inning, but reliever Yohan Ramírez entered the game and struck out pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar to escape the jam.

Horwitz proved to be the hero in the 11th. With Bryan Reynolds as the automatic runner, Horwitz smashed his second double of the game, this one off losing pitcher Nick Martinez (11-14), to score Reynolds with what proved to be the winning run.

Pittsburgh’s half of the inning ended abruptly when Andrew McCutchen lined into an unassisted double play to second baseman Matt McLain, but the damage was done.

Ramírez (2-3) returned to the mound for the bottom of the 11th to secure the win. After striking out Stephenson and getting a fly out, he walked two batters to load the bases, bringing the winning run to first base. But Ramírez induced a ground ball from Noelvi Marte to third baseman Jared Triolo, who stepped on the bag for the force out to end the 3-hour, 33-minute contest.

The victory defied pregame projections from Interstat, which had given the Reds a 57.6 percent probability to win and projected a final score of 6-3.

The two teams will conclude their four-game series and their respective 2025 seasons on Thursday afternoon. Following the game, Pittsburgh will travel to Atlanta for a three-game set, while Cincinnati will head to Milwaukee for a final three-game series against the Brewers.