Nothing separated the teams after five innings. Then Bryan Reynolds changed that. His single to right in the sixth scored Brandon Lowe with what proved to be the winning run, and Pittsburgh held on for a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday at PNC Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| PIT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 0 |
The Pirates got on the board first when Esmerlyn Valdez homered to left in the fourth inning, a 385-foot shot that also scored Reynolds and gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead. Valdez finished 1-for-4 with 2 RBI, carrying a .311 average with 10 home runs and 26 RBI on the season. Reynolds went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and the go-ahead RBI single.
Milwaukee answered in the fifth. Brice Turang doubled to center, scoring both Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz to tie the game at 2-2. Turang finished 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. But the Brewers could not add to that, and Reynolds' single an inning later put Pittsburgh back in front for good.
Shane Drohan took the loss for Milwaukee, falling to 4-3. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits over 6.1 innings, striking out 6 without a walk, with a 3.09 ERA. It was a quality effort that most nights would be enough. Pittsburgh's bullpen covered 4.1 innings without allowing a run, with Yohan Ramirez picking up the win to improve to 6-2. Mason Montgomery worked a scoreless ninth — striking out 2 — to earn his first save of the season.
Pittsburgh won for the second straight game, improving to 49-47. Milwaukee dropped its second consecutive game, falling to 59-36.