Hoover pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to earn the save in the Reds' 5-2 victory over the Pirates.
"I'm always looking to pitch," Hoover said. "I'm kind of handling the eighth-inning role. If I'm getting the chance to pitch, it means we're winning. That's a good thing."
Since Hoover had closer's duty, his job setting up in the eighth was handled by Ryan Mattheus and Manny Parra. Mattheus walked leadoff batter Andrew McCutchen, but struck out Neil Walker and got Sean Rodriguez to ground out.