CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A Reds team that hadnt pulled off a big comeback all season now has two in one week. And its been some kind of week. Two starters got hurt, three infielders went on the disabled list, and the wins kept coming. Brayan Penas pinch-hit single in the eighth inning completed another late rally by the Reds, who overcame more injuries on Friday and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 to keep their momentum going toward the All-Star break. Pena described this one as a "championship effort." "This is a huge victory for us," he said. "This is the kind of victory that shows what we can do. When we got behind, everybody kept pushing each other." Down 5-1 after six innings, the Reds scored twice with the help of third baseman Pedro Alvarezs throwing error in the seventh and added three more in the eighth. Cincinnati is 7-2 on its 11-game homestand leading into the break. Devin Mesoraco homered with two outs off left-hander Tony Watson (5-1) in the eighth, and the Reds put together four more singles, with RBI hits by Ramon Santiago and Pena completing Cincinnatis second big comeback of the week. Cincinnati overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday. Watson came in with a 0.84 ERA having allowed only one homer and four earned runs all season. "I dont want to say it came out of nowhere, but to come back from two outs and nobody on against a Tony Watson whos throwing missiles, I cant say enough," manager Bryan Price said. Curtis Partch (1-0), called up earlier in the day, escaped a bases-loaded threat in the eighth. Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances. He has at least one strikeout in his last 40 appearances, passing Bruce Sutter for the record by a major league reliever since 1900. Andrew McCutchen and Alvarez homered for a 4-0 lead off Cincinnatis Mat Latos, who left after only five innings because of back spasms. It was the shortest of his six starts since returning from torn knee cartilage and a strained pitching forearm. Latos ran hard to first to try to beat out a bunt in the second inning. His back started acting up when he went back to the mound. "When I was bending over to get the sign for the first batter in the third inning, all of a sudden it felt like one of the middle infielders came up and stabbed me in the back," Latos said. "It calmed down a little bit for two more innings." The Reds have been hit hard by injuries in the past week. First baseman Joey Votto is on the DL indefinitely with a thigh injury. Second baseman Brandon Phillips tore a ligament in his left thumb and had surgery on Friday. Skip Schumaker was expected to help fill in at second base, but he went on the 7-day concussion list. Starter Homer Bailey slightly strained his right knee on Thursday, but is expected to make his next turn. Now, its Latos who is a question. Billy Hamilton had a sore hamstring on Thursday and was relegated to pinch-hitting during a 6-4, 12-inning loss to the Cubs. He was back in the lineup on Friday and produced a run right away. He led off with a bunt toward first baseman Gaby Sanchez, pulling up and whirling his arms as he dodged the tag and then lunged for the base, touching it safely with his hand. He scored from first on Zack Cozarts double. NOTES: Mike Leake (7-7), who has won his last five decisions against the Pirates, faces Charlie Morton (5-9) on Saturday. ... Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said RHP Gerrit Cole wont be ready to rejoin the rotation when hes eligible to come off the DL on July 20. Cole has a sore muscle in his right side. ... Neil Walker was 0 for 3 with a walk, ending his 12-game hitting streak. ... Alvarezs 15 homers rank second behind Cincinnatis Todd Frazier (16) for most by an NL third baseman. ... The Reds optioned C Tucker Barnhart to Triple-A Louisville and called up right-handed relievers Carlos Contreras and Partch. (SportsNetwork.com) - The Ottawa Senators continue a tough stretch before the Olympic break as they visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, one night after visiting the leaders of the Eastern Conference. The Senators lost for the fourth time in six games with Mondays 2-1 overtime setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins, though they were able to earn a point following a disappointing 6-3 loss in Toronto on Saturday. Craig Anderson made a season-high 46 saves, but was unable to stop James Neals shot at the 1:55 mark of overtime. Stephane Da Costa scored for the Senators, who had cruised to a 5-0 win on home ice against the Pens back on Dec. 23 and now sit three points behind Detroit for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. "We knew we had to come out hard after the second half of our game in Toronto, which was not up to our liking," said Anderson, who surpassed his previous season high of 35 saves last done on Jan. 30. "We needed to come back and have a good game, and we knew they would want to come back hard at us too after we beat them in our building." Things dont get easier tonight for the Senators as they visit a Blues club that is third overall in the Western Conference with 79 points, three back of the Central Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks. Ottawa will visit the NHL basement-residing Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, but then visit the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins on Saturday. After a heavy workload last night, Robin Lehner is likely to give Anderson a deserved break tonight. Lehner has faceed the Blues just once before, making 30 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory at home on Dec.dddddddddddd 16. The Senators snapped a two-game slide to the Blues and have won six of the last eight meetings. They will visit St. Louis for the first time since a 5-2 loss on Nov. 19, 2010. Defenseman Cody Ceci scored his first NHL goal in the matchup with the Blues and it was the game-winner in overtime. Chris Stewart scored twice for the Blues and Brian Elliott made 29 saves. Derek Roy added two assists for St. Louis and the Ottawa native has 14 goals and 39 points in 45 career games versus the Sens. Elliott made 28 saves as the Blues won the opener of a four-game homestand by besting the Nashville Predators 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday. Vladimir Tarasenko had a game-tying goal in the third period before notching the winner in the tiebreaker. "We needed this game after losing the last game," said Tarasenko, referring to a 3-1 setback in Carolina the previous night. He also had an assist versus the Predators. Jaden Schwartz and David Backers also lit the lamp for the Blues, who won for the fourth time in its last five games and moved to 20-5-2 at home this season. Jaroslav Halak will start tonight for St. Louis, which is 9-0-0 at home versus the Eastern Conference this season. Halak is 3-5-1 with a 2.76 goals against average in his career versus the Senators. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock is one win shy of 110 with the Blues, which would tie Scotty Bowman for fourth on the franchises all-time list.
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