It wasn’t just the scoreboard where the Pittsburgh Pirates were winning Thursday night — the height jokes were flying, too. During pregame warmups ahead of the Reds-Pirates series opener at PNC Park, 6-foot-7 Oneil Cruz and 6-foot-5 Elly De La Cruz had some good-natured fun at the expense of 5-foot-9 Matt McLain. The towering duo towered over McLain and jokingly teased the Reds infielder for his smaller frame in what’s become a viral and light-hearted moment between two of the game’s most athletic shortstops and their vertically challenged peer.
Elly and Oneil were messing with Matt McLain about his height 😅
Oneil Cruz: 6’7”
Elly De La Cruz: 6’5”
Matt McLain: 5’9” pic.twitter.com/FQJfjpfcuq— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2025
While McLain took the ribbing in stride, the rest of the night wasn’t quite as enjoyable for the Cincinnati Reds. On the field, it was all Pirates. Paul Skenes continued his Cy Young-caliber campaign with another dominant performance, and the Bucs cruised to a 7-0 shutout win behind a pair of home runs and six scoreless innings from their ace.
Skenes scattered seven hits — a career-high — but didn’t allow a single run or walk across six innings while striking out eight. The right-hander lowered his league-best ERA to 1.94 and extended his scoreless streak to 27 2/3 innings. He also improved to 4-0 in four career starts against Cincinnati, sporting a ridiculous 0.39 ERA in those outings.
Paul Skenes, Pirates dominated Reds on Thursday
The Pirates gave him immediate support in the first inning. Bryan Reynolds launched a solo homer, followed by three straight walks from Reds starter Brady Singer. Jared Triolo cashed in with a two-run single to give Pittsburgh a quick 3-0 lead. It was all the offense Skenes needed.
Singer labored through just 3 2/3 innings, surrendering six hits, four runs, and four walks while striking out two. After two straight quality starts earlier in the week, the Reds bullpen was pressed back into duty, deploying four relievers to cover the final frames.
Pittsburgh tacked on more. Spencer Horwitz added an RBI single in the fourth, Oneil Cruz drove in a run on a groundout in the sixth, and Henry Davis broke it open with a two-run homer in the seventh. Davis’ blast, his first since June 7, sailed just inside the left-field foul pole and put an exclamation point on a dominant night for the Pirates.
The Reds, meanwhile, scattered hits across the night — including knocks from McLain and Elly De La Cruz — but couldn’t string anything together. Cincinnati finished with seven hits, left multiple runners stranded, and failed to capitalize on their limited chances.
Ke’Bryan Hayes made his return to Pittsburgh after being dealt to the Reds at the trade deadline, receiving a warm ovation from the home crowd before singling off his former teammate Skenes.
With the loss, the Reds dropped to 60-56 and 3.5 games behind the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. The Pirates, now 50-66, snapped a two-game skid and improved to 33-27 at home. The series continues Friday night with Chase Burns (0-3, 6.04 ERA) starting for Cincinnati against Mitch Keller (5-10, 3.89 ERA) for Pittsburgh.
