PITTSBURGH -- Reds starting pitcher Tyler Mahle thought his season ended in lousy fashion Wednesday, when he got roughed up by the Brewers in what was viewed at the time as his final start of 2019. But then Trevor Bauer fell ill and had to be scratched, so on Saturday, Cincinnati told Mahle to be ready to start Sunday¡¯s Game 162 vs. the Pirates.

This final, final start for Mahle was a much better sendoff to his offseason. He delivered five scoreless innings during a 3-1 Reds¡¯ victory over Pittsburgh at PNC Park as they claimed two of three in the series.

? Box score

¡°I was excited to get a second chance at capping off my season with a good outing,¡± Mahle said. ¡°When they told me, at first, they just said I might just be pitching at some point. I was hoping to be able to get out there and then they told me I was starting, and I was happy.¡±

A candidate for the fifth starter¡¯s spot in Cincinnati¡¯s 2020 rotation, Mahle allowed three hits without a walk and struck out five while throwing 74 pitches on short rest. The lineup supplied some punch with three home runs, although none came from Eugenio Su¨¢rez in his last bid for 50 homers in 2019. Instead, Aristides Aquino gave the Reds a 1-0 when he hit a two-out homer to left field against Pirates starter Trevor Williams.

Williams was pitching in the fifth inning when Brian O¡¯Grady slugged a solo blast to right-center field. Then, with a 2-1 game in the eighth inning facing Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez, Alex Blandino added an insurance run with his homer to center field, his first of the season.

Cincinnati finished 2019 with a 75-87 record, its sixth consecutive losing season. But the team¡¯s streak of 90-loss seasons ended at four.

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¡°Obviously, it¡¯s still disappointing, because I think we had a really good team here and we could¡¯ve done a lot this year,¡± said reliever Robert Stephenson, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. ¡°You look at the bright spots. Going into next year, I think we have a legitimate chance to be a team that¡¯s going to surprise some people.¡±

Over a career-high 25 starts this season, Mahle¡¯s overall numbers don¡¯t sparkle, as he ended with a 3-12 record and 5.15 ERA. The Reds were 7-18 in the games that he started. But manager David Bell wasn¡¯t discouraged with the right-hander and summed up his year with much optimism.

¡°As it turns out, I think that could turn out to be an important start for Tyler,¡± Bell said. ¡°He¡¯s going into the offseason with a really good taste in his mouth, which he should have based on the whole course of his season and the development he made. I told him the results -- or certain stats -- don¡¯t define his season in our minds. I think it was really a strong one and a good step for him.

¡°The stats are the stats. They don¡¯t lie. What I¡¯m saying is, it¡¯s like our season -- I would sum it up the same way as Tyler¡¯s, where he¡¯s very close. He¡¯s showed so many indications of why he¡¯s so close. He was able to identify one or two things that he knows are going to be the key to taking it to the next level. He had enough success to know he can do it, yet he had stretches he knows he can get better.¡±

When asked, Mahle declined to detail what he identified.

¡°That¡¯s just something internal that I think I¡¯m going to keep to myself,¡± Mahle said. ¡°There are always things to work on and get better at. Yeah, I do have a pretty good idea on one thing in particular. It¡¯s not a mechanical thing or anything, it¡¯s just kind of an [mental] thing.¡±

The Reds¡¯ 2020 rotation is almost set already, with the top four expected to be Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani. That also means that the battle for the fifth spot should be competitive. Besides Mahle, the club could look at Kevin Gausman, Lucas Sims and Tony Santillan, who is ranked as the organization¡¯s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

In Wednesday¡¯s 9-2 loss to Milwaukee, Mahle lasted a season-low 2 1/3 innings and gave up a career-high seven earned runs that included three home runs, which equaled a career high.

¡°After that game, I was pretty disappointed,¡± said Mahle, who turned 25 on Sunday. ¡°I was still kind of disappointed how my season went, but it makes it a lot better getting a win today, ending the season with a win.¡±