Ahead of their contest in Cincinnati on Monday, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Joey Votto struck up a conversation.
Even though the Reds would eventually fall short of the postseason, they still were going to finish with a winning record. Votto had been the face of his franchise for years. The hope for the Pirates, on the cusp of triple-digit losses, is that Hayes could one day be that face like Votto is.
Great American BallPark had been a disastrous location for the Pirates, who would lose nine of 10 there, most of them via blowout.