The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 10 runs in the fourth inning of a 14-5 win against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday to sweep the three-game series.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes (8-8) allowed two runs on three hits and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.
Brewers starter Robert Gasser (2-4) surrendered seven runs on eight hits in three-plus innings. He got the call in place of Jacob Misiorowski (fatigue).
Jared Triolo had three of the Pirates’ 15 hits.
Up 4-2, Pittsburgh went through 14 batters and chased two pitchers as it put up 10 runs in the bottom half of the fifth.
Marcell Ozuna opened it with a home run to right field. Triolo doubled and Henry Davis drove him in with a single, pushing the lead to 6-2.
That ended Gasser’s outing.
Jared Koenig came in and walked Jake Mangum. Brandon Lowe loaded the bases with a single and nobody out. Koenig caught Bryan Reynolds on the foot, bringing Davis across to make it 7-2.
Esmerlyn Valdez walked, scoring Mangum, and Ryan O’Hearn singled, allowing Lowe to come around for a 9-2 advantage.
With the bases still full and nobody out, Koenig was lifted for Grant Anderson. Nick Gonzales doubled, scoring Reynolds and Valdez.
Anderson struck out Ozuna for the first out of the inning, but then Triolo drove in O’Hearn and Gonzales with a single.
The Pirates successfully challenged a call that Davis was out at first on what appeared to be a double play, extending the inning. Mangum tripled to score Davis, extending it to 14-2.
The Brewers cut into the deficit in the eighth. Brice Turang hit a two-run homer, and a Garrett Mitchell double scored Jake Bauers to narrow it to 14-5.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the second. Valdez knocked a leadoff double and scored when O’Hearn connected for a double to right. Ozuna drove in O’Hearn with a single to make it 2-0.
Davis pushed it to 4-0 with a home run to left field.
After going out in order in each of the first three innings, the Brewers finally broke through in the fourth.
Christian Yelich doubled and came around to score on a double from Jackson Chourio. Gary Sanchez later hit into a fielder’s choice that brought in Chourio to make it 4-2.
