CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Pirates MVP saved them. Twice. Andrew McCutchen tied the game with a solo homer in the ninth inning Saturday night, then connected again in the 11th inning, rallying the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. "Strange game," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its summertime. Strange things are happening." And some spectacular things from Pittsburghs best player. The Pirates blew a four-run lead for the second straight night, but managed to come back behind McCutchen, who has more homers against Cincinnati than anyone else since 2009. With two swings, he saved them from another discouraging meltdown. "Huge swings of the bat for us," Hurdle said. "Hes a special player." The National Leagues 2013 MVP tied it in the ninth off Jonathan Broxton, filling in the closers role because Aroldis Chapman had pitched four days in a row. He hit his 17th homer with two outs in the 11th off J.J. Hoover (1-7) for his ninth career multihomer game. "He does a lot of unreal stuff," said left-hander Justin Wilson (3-1), who escaped a threat in the 10th. "Hes an unbelievable player. Im glad Im on his team and I dont have to pitch against him." Wilson got out of a threat in the 10th with the help of right fielder Gregory Polanco, who threw Ramon Santiago out at the plate as he tried to score from second base on Jay Bruces single. "I cant take all the credit," McCutchen said. "Youve got to think of the throw from Polanco. That was a huge throw, a game-changer for us." McCutchen put the Pirates back ahead with a first-pitch homer off Hoover. "I was just ready to hit," he said. "It was a slider right down the middle, and I was ready to hit it." Jeanmar Gomez pitched the 11th for his first career save. "We know what they have over there," Bruce said. "A guy hits the tying and winning home runs -- you dont see that too often. Im perfectly happy with what we did tonight, except for losing." The Reds won the series opener 6-5 by rallying in the eighth inning against All-Star reliever Tony Watson, overcoming a four-run deficit. They pulled out of a four-run deficit again on Saturday but couldnt finish it off. McCutchen has 20 career homers against Cincinnati, the most by any player in the majors since 2009. Hes hit six of them this season, including three during the first two games of the series. The Reds slipped to 7-3 on their 11-game homestand, remaining 1 1/2 games behind NL Central co-leaders Milwaukee and St. Louis. Cincinnati is 8-4 against the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh is 2-4 on a trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati. The Pirates gave up two game-ending homers in St. Louis and blew a four-run lead in the series opener, a 6-5 Reds win. The Reds got in position to win it with a pair of homers. Chris Heisey batted for Mike Leake in the sixth and hit a two-run shot off Charlie Morton. Todd Frazier -- who will participate in the All-Star home run derby next week -- completed the comeback with a three-run shot off Morton, who had given up a total of six homers coming into the game. NOTES: All-Star Johnny Cueto (9-6) starts the final game of the series for Cincinnati. The Pirates plan to activate left-hander Francisco Liriano (1-6) off the disabled list. He has recovered from a strained oblique. ... McCutchen has hit safely in 11 of the 12 games against Cincinnati this season, going 20-for-47 with four doubles, six homers and eight RBIs. ... The Reds optioned reliever Curtis Partch, who got the win on Friday night, to Triple-A Louisville and brought up INF Neftali Soto, giving them four position players available on the bench. ... It was Heiseys eighth career pinch-hit homer, his second this season. Authentic Jacob McQuaide Jersey . - The situation looked bleak at best for the coach Doc Rivers Clippers — down by four points with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. 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Montreals Bouchard survived a scare from a 431st-ranked challenger from China, scoring a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Chen Tang Hao. Vancouvers Pospisil, who is seeded 28th, eliminated Australian Sam Groth with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win. Bouchard, the 30th seed, rode a roller-coaster in the one-hour opening set after earning a 3-1 lead, only to lose it a game later on a double-fault. Bouchard, recently named The Canadian Press female athlete of the year, was broken again to drop to 3-4 as Tang rifled back a return winner before holding for a 5-3 lead. Bouchard saved set points in the ensuing game on Tang errors before finally earning a 7-5 win on a break. The 19-year-old Bouchard was more in control in the second set and dominated to win the 6-1. "It was tough but I fought and got through it," Bouchard said. "I didnt play the way I really wanted, but it was good to win one like this. "It was really fun, I had some good support, it was good atmosphere," said Bouchard, who admitted struggling the 35-degree heat. "It was hotter than past few days, tough for both of us," she said. "Its strange training at one temperature (around 25 C on Sunday) and playing in something completely different. BBut no complaints, it was the same for both of us.dddddddddddd" She said she needed to be mindful of the hot sun. "Im big on sunscreen and hydration, especially the night before," said Bouchard. I did a good job of it and was fine. Id rather play tennis in the sun than do anything else anyway." Pospisil, 23, was never troubled by Groth and appears to have overcome a back problem which bothered him this month in India and Sydney. In the second round, Pospisil will face another Australian in Matthew Ebden, who beat Nicolas Mahut of France 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3. Pospisil said that while he did not feel at 100 per cent, he played well. "I played surprising well, I was not expecting to play like this," he said. "I wasnt feeling that great and only played points the day before, I didnt have much preparation. "But I returned and served well, overall I did fine." "I didnt feel any fatigue, I was playing relaxed because of my back," he added. "I dont anticipate any problems in the next round but Im glad I didnt have to go five sets." Pospisil overcame 16 aces from his opponent, firing six of his own and breaking on four of 10 chances. He scored 31 winners and 17 unforced errors. The Canadian earned the break he needed in the seventh game of the opening set and in the final game of the match on the Groth double-fault. ' ' '