Kovacevic: Stratton struts his stuff in sizzling final-out showdown with Votto

Where's it scripted that September ball has to be a spectacular bore?

And meaningless?

Don't get me wrong, there's a whole bunch of bad I'd easily assign to the Pirates beating the Reds, 6-5, on this Tuesday night at PNC Park, not least of which is that the occasion occurs less often than a lunar eclipse. Nine of the first 10 meetings went to Cincinnati by cumulative score of 82-26, and that doesn't come close to painting how lopsided they were.

But baseball's funny, man. It can offer eight-plus innings of meh, then climax with something legitimately memorable.

And yeah, meaningful.

Dillon Peters pitched five scoreless innings, the Pirates scored the evening's first six runs, Nick Mears…