Gattis fuels Astros past Pirates
PITTSBURGH -- Evan Gattis belted a two-run homer and three others drove in a run Wednesday as the Houston Astros built an early lead and held on for a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at PNC Park.
Houston claimed the rubber match of the interleague series and has won five of its past six contests.
Gregory Polanco drove in two runs and Jordy Mercer hit a homer for Pittsburgh, which has lost five of its past six.
Astros starter Collin McHugh (8-10) won for the first time since July 23. He gave up three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Kent Giles pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole (7-9) had another tough start, giving up five runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts in five innings. He failed to go six innings for the ninth time in 20 starts, and the Pirates have lost each of his past four outings.
Gattis gave Houston a 2-0 lead in the second inning with his 20th homer of the season. The blast was sent to the hedges in center field after Carlos Correa led off with a walk.
Mercer led off the third with a homer to left to pull the Pirates within a run at 2-1.
The Astros restored their two-run lead in the fourth. Correa led off with an infield single and advanced to second on Mercer's throwing error from short. An out later, Marwin Gonzalez tripled to the gap in right-center to drive in Correa to make it 3-1.
Houston got two more off of Cole in the fifth. George Springer led off with a single up the middle and moved to third on rookie Alex Bregman's fluky double when the ball kicked up off of third base. Jose Altuve and Correa followed with sacrifice flies for a 5-1 lead.
Pittsburgh chipped away in its half of the fifth, closing to within 5-3 when Starling Marte and Polanco hit back-to-back two-out RBI singles.
Polanco brought the Pirates within a run at 5-4 in the seventh with a two-out RBI triple to the right-field corner.
NOTES: Pittsburgh 3B Jung Ho Kang, on the DL with a partial shoulder dislocation, has resumed fielding and throwing. ... Pirates RHP Tyler Glasnow, on the DL with shoulder discomfort, was scheduled for a bullpen session in Triple-A Indianapolis Wednesday and will make his next rehab start for Indy on a date to be determined. He has made two rehab starts at Double-A Altoona. ... The Pirates gave CF Andrew McCutchen a day off from the starting lineup. ... Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte returned to the lineup after not starting Tuesday. ... Houston SS Carlos Correa was back in the lineup. He left Tuesday's game because of illness. ... Astros IF/OF Yulieski Gurriel was not in the starting lineup for the third game in a row. The former Cuban star, who was recalled Sunday, is dealing with a hamstring issue, limiting him to pinch-hitting availability. ... According to the Houston Chronicle, former St. Louis executive Christopher Correa has been ordered to surrender by 1 p.m. Tuesday to begin serving his 46-month prison sentence in Cumberland, Md., for unauthorized intrusions into the Astros' player and scouting information database. ... Houston opens a six-game homestand Friday against Tampa Bay. ... The Pirates begin a four-game series against Milwaukee on Thursday at Miller Park, where they have gone 0-3 this season and have lost nine straight games.