CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Elly De La Cruz raced home from third base on Nathaniel Lowe’s fielder’s choice with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night at Great American Ball Park.

De La Cruz, who doubled to left field to open the ninth, moved to third when Gregory Soto intentionally walked Sal Stewart. After J.J. Bleday struck out, Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases. Lowe then grounded a ball to shortstop Jared Triolo, who forced Stephenson at second base, but De La Cruz scored ahead of the throw to give Cincinnati its second straight walk-off win over a division rival.

The Reds had taken a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but the Pirates rallied to tie the game with single runs in the fifth and sixth. The decisive ninth-inning sequence came after both bullpens had traded scoreless frames through the middle innings, and it capped a tight, low-scoring affair that featured strong starting pitching from Cincinnati’s Rhett Lowder.

Lowder, the Reds’ top starter on this night, worked six innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out five. He retired the side in order in the first and second innings before Pittsburgh broke through against him in the fifth. Nick Gonzales doubled to right field to lead off the inning, and Endy Rodríguez followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Jacob Gonzalez then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Gonzales to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Pittsburgh tied the game in the sixth when Brandon Lowe led off with his 23rd home run of the season, a fly ball to right field off Lowder. That was the last batter Lowder faced in the inning, as he retired the next three Pirates after the homer. Lowder finished his outing having thrown 88 pitches, with the only damage coming on Gonzales’ sacrifice fly and Lowe’s solo shot.

Cincinnati had grabbed its early lead in the third inning against Pittsburgh starter Hunter Barco. Matt McLain singled to right field to open the inning, and De La Cruz followed with a sharp line-drive double to center field, scoring McLain. Stewart then singled to right field, plating De La Cruz to make it 2-0. Barco, who allowed two earned runs on five hits in three innings, struck out two and walked none before giving way to the Pirates’ bullpen.

The Pirates’ relief corps kept the game within reach. Noah Murdock threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out three. Yohan Ramírez followed with two hitless innings, striking out four. Mason Montgomery added a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, and the trio combined to retire 14 of the 15 batters they faced from the fourth through the eighth innings.

Cincinnati’s bullpen was equally effective after Lowder departed. Brock Burke pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two. Tejay Antone worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit while striking out one. Emilio Pagán then took over for the ninth and struck out two in a perfect inning, earning the win after the Reds walked off in the bottom half.

Pagán, who entered with a 2-1 record, improved to 3-1 on the season. Gregory Soto, the Pirates’ fifth pitcher, took the loss and fell to 5-3. Soto allowed the inherited runner to score in the ninth, though he had entered with the game tied after the Pirates’ bullpen had kept Cincinnati off the board through the eighth.

De La Cruz was the offensive catalyst for the Reds, finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. He doubled in the third, fifth and ninth innings, becoming the first Reds shortstop to hit three doubles in a game since the club’s modern era began. His lone run came on the game’s final play. Stewart also drove in a run with a single in the third, and McLain scored once.

For Pittsburgh, Gonzales was the standout hitter, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Brandon Lowe drove in the Pirates’ other run with his home run. Jake Mangum, Jhostynxon Garcia and Endy Rodríguez each had one hit for the Pirates, who finished with seven hits. The Reds collected nine hits.

The attendance was 25,532, and the game took 3 hours, 1 minute.

Pittsburgh, which had dropped the opener of this three-game series Wednesday in a shutout, fell to 55-55. Cincinnati improved to 51-57. The Reds have now won four of their last five games, while the Pirates have lost two straight.

The Pirates had won the previous three games between the teams in Pittsburgh in late June, but the Reds have now taken the first two meetings of this series in Cincinnati. The two teams are scheduled to play again Friday night at Great American Ball Park, with the Pirates sending a right-hander to the mound against a Reds starter who has been sharp of late.

Cincinnati’s recent stretch has been fueled by solid starting pitching and timely hitting. Lowder’s outing Thursday was his second consecutive quality start after he allowed two earned runs in five innings in a win at St. Louis on July 24. Before that, he had struggled in a loss at Colorado, but he rebounded with a strong effort against the Pirates’ left-handed heavy lineup.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen, which had been a strength during a 10-4 stretch from mid-July to early this week, faltered in the ninth. Ramírez and Montgomery had combined for six strikeouts in three scoreless innings, but Soto could not preserve the tie. The Pirates had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth when Garcia singled with two outs, but Jake Mangum struck out to end the inning.

The game featured several defensive highlights, including a double play turned by the Pirates in the seventh inning that got starter-turned-reliever Montgomery out of a jam. With runners on first and second and one out, Eugenio Suárez grounded to third baseman Gonzales, who started a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Cincinnati also turned a key double play in the fourth inning, but it went for naught as the Reds already held a two-run lead. The Reds’ defense was solid behind Lowder, who induced groundouts and flyouts to strand runners in scoring position in the second and sixth innings.

The final line for Lowder included five strikeouts and no walks, a marked improvement from his previous outing against the Pirates in June, when he allowed four runs in a loss. He threw 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes and consistently worked ahead in the count.

De La Cruz’s three doubles were the most by any player in this series, and his ninth-inning hit set the stage for the walk-off. After De La Cruz’s double, Soto intentionally walked Stewart to put the winning run aboard, then struck out Bleday swinging. Stephenson’s walk loaded the bases, and Lowe’s grounder to short was mishandled just enough to allow De La Cruz to score from third without a throw home.

The Pirates challenged a pitch call in the eighth inning when Bryan Reynolds was called out on strikes, but the call was confirmed after a brief review. The Reds also had a challenge in the first inning on a pitch to Stewart that was confirmed as a strikeout.

Both teams had runners in scoring position in the middle innings but failed to capitalize. The Pirates left two runners on base in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with two outs and Brandon Lowe struck out. The Reds left the bases loaded in the seventh when Suárez grounded into a double play.

The game was played under clear skies with temperatures in the mid-80s at first pitch. The field was in good condition despite recent rain in the area.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cincinnati Reds 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 4, but the actual total of five runs stayed well below that projection. Interstat’s ELO system had given Pittsburgh a 51.40 percent probability to win entering the game, and the Pirates had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of five runs went over the betting line of 9.5, as the final score of 3-2 pushed the combined total to five, which was below the posted over-under of 9.5.