PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — Eugenio Suárez launched a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning Saturday afternoon, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park before a crowd of 30,077.

The game lasted 3 hours, 6 minutes.

Cincinnati improved to 39-42, while Pittsburgh fell to 41-42.

Caleb Ferguson earned the win, his first against no losses this season, pitching a third of an inning. Chase Petty recorded his first save with a scoreless ninth. Gregory Soto took the loss, falling to 4-2.

Suárez, serving as the designated hitter, finished 1 for 4. His homer capped a three-run rally that erased a one-run deficit and gave the Reds their second consecutive win over the Pirates. Cincinnati had won 6-4 on Friday.

The decisive inning began with Edwin Arroyo singling off Soto. Elly De La Cruz walked after a successful challenge that overturned a pitch result, moving Arroyo to second. Sal Stewart then grounded into a double play, but Arroyo advanced to third. JJ Bleday walked, bringing Suárez to the plate. He drove a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall for his eighth homer of the season, scoring Arroyo and Bleday ahead of him.

Pittsburgh put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Gonzales walked with two outs, but Ryan O’Hearn lined out to first baseman Spencer Steer to end the game.

The Reds had taken an early lead. Sal Stewart homered to right field in the first inning, his 15th of the season, giving Cincinnati a 1-0 advantage. The score remained there until the third, when Jose Trevino hit a ground-rule double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Arroyo and scored on Stewart’s single to make it 2-0.

Pittsburgh answered in the bottom of the third. Jared Triolo singled, Jake Mangum singled, and Brandon Lowe launched a three-run homer to right field, his 20th, putting the Pirates ahead 3-2.

The Pirates extended the lead in the fourth. Endy Rodríguez doubled, and Triolo singled him home, making it 4-2.

Cincinnati tied the game in the fifth. Dane Myers walked, and Arroyo doubled to left field, scoring Myers. Arroyo then scored when Lowe committed a fielding error on a ground ball by Stewart, pulling the Reds even at 4-4.

The Reds took the lead in the sixth. Steer singled, and after a fielder’s choice, Myers reached on a bunt single, loading the bases. Trevino singled to right field, driving in Steer and Noelvi Marte for a 6-4 lead. Arroyo was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, but De La Cruz grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Pittsburgh chipped away in the seventh. Triolo doubled, moved to third on Mangum’s groundout, and scored on Lowe’s sacrifice fly. Bryan Reynolds and Gonzales walked, and O’Hearn singled to right, scoring Reynolds to tie the game at 6-6. Marcell Ozuna struck out to end the threat.

The Pirates took a 7-6 lead in the eighth. Esmerlyn Valdez homered to right-center, his fourth of the season, off reliever Tejay Antone. Antone struck out the next batter, then was replaced by Ferguson, who got the final two outs.

Cincinnati’s comeback in the ninth set up Petty for the save.

Chase Burns started for Cincinnati and worked six innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs while striking out 10. Jared Jones started for Pittsburgh and went 4 2/3 innings, surrendering four hits and three earned runs with four strikeouts.

Sal Stewart finished 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs. Triolo went 3 for 4 with an RBI for Pittsburgh. Lowe was 1 for 4 with the three-run homer and four RBIs.

Yohan Ramírez threw two scoreless innings for Pittsburgh, allowing three hits with two strikeouts. Isaac Mattson pitched a perfect eighth with two strikeouts.

The Reds and Pirates conclude their series Sunday afternoon.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 4. Interstat’s ELO system had given Pittsburgh a 54.90 percent probability to win. Cincinnati had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 16 went under the over-under line of 8.