Mike Leake stars in Reds' 3-0 win in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — Mike Leake was the star for the Reds on Wednesday night. Joey Votto was just a very compelling side show.
Leake pitched eight shutout innings to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0. Leake allowed six hits, no walks and struck out two. He recorded 18 ground-ball outs — and the Reds had two infield errors.
"I'm just trying to make pitches and keep the ball down," Leake said. "If you're doing that, you have a pretty good probability of doing well."
Leake threw eight shutout innings in his last start as well. Leake is 2-1 with a 2.47 ERA. He says he has no new secret formula.
"I'm just trying to pitch," he said. "That's what I tell myself. Keep the ball down and mix it."
Leake is never overpowering, but his stuff was a tick better Wednesday.
"I thought he had better action on his fastball than normal," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He's got a very good traditional sinker, but I thought he better action on that tonight. You see the evolution of a guy. . . his change-up was easily his least dependable pitch as he came into professional baseball, and it's become one of his more dependable pitches.
"That's just a pitcher that's continued to evolve and get better."
Leake also drove in a run with a bolt of double to left.
"That was a big at-bat there," Price said.
The Pirates walked Tucker Barnhart to get to Leake, even though Leake has 71 career hits — the most of any MLB pitcher since 2010.
He said the intentional walk doesn't get him amped.
"I'm starting to see the ball a little better," he said. "I've put some better at-bats together. I was trying to get a pitch in my zone that I liked. He hung one for me."
Leake cruised through five, allowing only two infield hits. But he faced two-out jams in the sixth and seventh.
He had a bit more trouble in the eighth. After Andrew McCutchen singled with one out, Leake got Starling Marte to hit into a double play. It was Leake's 105th pitch.
"That was significant," Price said. "That got us to (Aroldis) Chapman."
Chapman wrapped it up for his sixth save in six chances.