The throw gets by Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips, left, as Pittsburgh's Andy LaRoche slides into second on a ground ball Thursday in Sarasota, Fla. The Pirates left town with a 6-5 victory.

SARASOTA, Fla. It started with boos from a sparse crowd and ended on a run set up by a balk. Not how the Cincinnati Reds wanted their Florida finale to go.

Fans booed the mayor before Cincinnati's final spring training game in Florida, and the Reds wrapped up a dozen years in Sarasota with a 6-5 loss to a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad Thursday.

Taxpayers and politicians declined to commit money to upgrade the facilities the last few years, prompting the Reds to move to Goodyear, Ariz., next spring. During a pregame ceremony, mayor Lou Ann Palmer was loudly booed by fans upset that there will be no major league team in Sarasota.

Only 2,935 fans showed up for the last game, less than half the capacity of Ed Smith Stadium. The Reds have trained in Florida since the 1920s, but are moving to Arizona the site of their first camp in 1891 to share a complex with the Cleveland Indians.

The Reds wanted to stay in Sarasota and offered to sign a long-term lease if the facility was upgraded. Voters rejected a stadium tax hike in 2007 and local politicians declined to commit $18 million to the facility, prompting the Reds to leave.

The small crowd vented at politicians who failed to keep the team in town and have been unable to lure a replacement. Palmer and two other local officials were booed loudly on the field before the game. When Palmer asked the crowd for a moment of silence over the Reds' departure, one man yelled: "It's your fault!"

With that, the mayor invited the fans to go ahead and express their frustration. They did, providing a long, collective boo.

"I'm glad so many of you are angry with us, I really am," she said, "because I'm angry with us, too."

All that was followed by an ugly game, one that featured five combined errors and ended after a balk by Nick Masset set up Kent Sakamoto's tiebreaking single in the eighth.

Ian Snell had to skip his planned start because of an illness that has gone around the Pirates' clubhouse, but hopes to pitch in a minor league game today. Right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez started and failed to help his chances to win the last spot. Cincinnati sent eight batters to the plate for three runs in the first inning.

Chavez and right-hander Evan Meek who has been sick the last few days are competing for the job. Chavez walked the first two batters he faced and three of the eight overall.