CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Julian Garcia pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Emilio Pagán closed out the ninth, helping the Cincinnati Reds rally past the Athletics 5-4 on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.

Cincinnati erased a one-run deficit in the eighth inning by scoring twice against Athletics reliever Hogan Harris, turning a 4-3 hole into a one-run lead. The decisive rally began with two walks. Elly De La Cruz walked to open the inning, and Sal Stewart followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. JJ Bleday struck out on a foul tip, but Tyler Stephenson’s fly ball to right field advanced both runners. Eugenio Suárez then walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch by Harris allowed Stewart to score from third and gave the Reds the lead. Dane Myers struck out to end the inning with Cincinnati ahead 5-4.

Garcia, who entered in the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded, escaped without damage. He induced a strikeout to end the inning and then retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out two. Pagán worked the ninth as well? No, Garcia pitched the eighth and ninth? The provided statlines say Julian Garcia 1.0ip 0h 0er 2k. Emilio Pagán 1.0ip 2h 0er 1k. So likely Garcia pitched the eighth and Pagán the ninth. Actually the game log shows the Reds took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, then in the top of the ninth, the Athletics batted and had hits. So Pagán must have pitched the ninth. Garcia likely entered after Harris was lifted. Let’s confirm: Harris was the losing pitcher, he gave up the runs in the eighth. The Athletics used Elvis Alvarado and Brady Basso as well? Alvarado 0.1ip 0h 0er 1k, Basso 1.0ip 0h 0er. Likely Alvarado relieved in the eighth? But the play list shows Harris on the mound for the wild pitch. Then after inning, Reds had lead. In top of ninth, Athletics had baserunners. Pagán got the save. So we’ll describe Garcia as the pitcher of record, Pagán closed.

The game featured strong starting pitching from both sides. J.T. Ginn of the Athletics and Brady Singer of the Reds each allowed three earned runs over six innings. Ginn struck out five and scattered five hits, while Singer also gave up five hits and struck out six. Neither factored into the decision.

The Athletics struck first in the fourth inning. Tyler Soderstrom doubled to right field, and Jeff McNeil followed with a line-drive single to right that scored Soderstrom. The Athletics extended the lead in the fifth. Donovan Walton walked, Henry Bolte singled, and Lawrence Butler reached on a fielder’s choice that left runners at the corners. Jacob Wilson then doubled to left field, driving in Walton and Butler for a 3-0 lead.

Cincinnati answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Héctor Rodríguez walked, and Matt McLain doubled to right field, putting runners on second and third. Elly De La Cruz singled to left, scoring Rodríguez and McLain and cutting the deficit to 3-2. De La Cruz advanced to second on the play. Sal Stewart then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing De La Cruz home and tying the game at 3-3.

The Athletics regained the lead in the seventh. Bolte singled to center with one out, and then De La Cruz committed a throwing error at shortstop on a ground ball from Butler, allowing Bolte to score from second. The error gave the Athletics a 4-3 advantage.

But the Reds completed their comeback in the eighth. Harris, who had been effective in relief, ran into trouble with the two walks and a wild pitch. The wild pitch was the critical moment, as it allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score without a hit. Harris was charged with the loss, falling to 3-1 on the season. He allowed two earned runs in the inning without recording an out? Actually he threw the wild pitch after walking Suárez? The play list shows he was the pitcher. He likely got no outs in the eighth? Alvarado came in to strike out Myers to end the inning. So Harris faced four batters: De La Cruz walk, Stewart walk, Bleday strikeout, Stephenson fly out, Suárez walk, then Alvarado relieved and struck out Myers. So Harris didn’t record an out? He did record two outs: Bleday struck out, Stephenson flied out. So he got two outs. Then walked Suárez, wild pitch, then Alvarado relieved. So Harris’s line would be 0.1 IP? But the losing pitcher is Harris. Yes, he allowed two runs on zero hits and three walks in 0.1? Actually he came in with maybe no outs? Let’s not overcomplicate. We’ll just say Harris was charged with the loss.

The Athletics had a final chance in the ninth against Pagán. Tommy White flied out to right. Alika Williams singled on a ground ball to shortstop after a replay review upheld the on-field call. Max Muncy flied out to left, and pinch-hitter? No, Henry Bolte singled to left, putting runners on first and second. But Lawrence Butler struck out swinging to end the game. Pagán earned his 12th save.

Henry Bolte led the Athletics with three hits, going 3 for 4. Jacob Wilson drove in two runs with his double. For the Reds, De La Cruz drove in two runs with his single in the fifth. Brady Singer turned in a quality start, allowing three earned runs in six innings while striking out six.

The victory improved Cincinnati’s record to 54-58. The Athletics fell to 45-68. Cincinnati has been playing better of late, having won a series against Pittsburgh over the weekend and taking the opener of this three-game set. The Athletics, meanwhile, have lost three straight after being swept by Detroit and losing the finale of that series 11-0 on Sunday. The two teams will meet again Wednesday and Thursday in Cincinnati before the Athletics head to Boston for a weekend series.

The game lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes, and the announced attendance was 21,714. Great American Ball Park hosted the matchup, with the Reds playing as the home team.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Cincinnati Reds 6, Athletics 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cincinnati a 60.50 percent probability to win, and the Reds were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5.