Pirates bang out 13 hits in win over Brewers
MILWAUKEE -- Josh Bell and Jordy Mercer drove in two runs each and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Miller Park.
Adam Frazier finished with three hits while Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Cervelli and Mercer recorded two each for the Pirates, who totaled for 13 on the night.
Pittsburgh starter Steven Brault worked four innings and allowed three runs on five hits with two walks in four strikeouts, but a quintet of Pirates relievers held Milwaukee to just three base runners over the final four innings.
Jared Hughes (1-1) pitched one inning for the win, with Tony Watson earning his 14th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Martin Maldonado and Hernan Perez both had two hits for Milwaukee.
A single, a walk and a double to open the first inning gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead on Matt Garza, who allowed five runs on eight hits and a pair of walks over four-plus innings of work.
Milwaukee got on the board in the third when catcher Cervelli couldn't handle Sean Rodriguez's relay throw on Domingo Santana's double, allowing Chris Carter to score from first.
Mercer restored the two-run lead with a two-out RBI single in the fourth but Maldonado got the run back in the bottom of the inning, sending a 1-1 offering from Brault to left-center for his eight home run of the season.
Garza's day ended in the fifth, after Bell's two run single with no outs made it 5-2.
Pittsburgh added an insurance run in the sixth against Ben Rowan when Mercer drove in Cervelli to make it a three-run game.
NOTES: Milwaukee selected the contract of C/1B Josmil Pinto from Triple-A Colorado Springs Tuesday. Pinto, claimed off waivers from San Diego last December, batted .308 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI in 86 games for Colorado Springs this season. He hasn't played in the majors since 2014, when he appeared in 57 games for Minnesota. ... Pirates C Chris Stewart underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday and will not play again this season. Stewart began experiencing problems in the knee in June and landed on the disabled list a month later. He returned briefly in September but was placed on the 60-day DL on Sept. 13. He batting .214 in 133 plate appearances this season. ... The Pirates swept a four-game series in their last visit to Milwaukee -- their first sweep there since 2004 -- but have gone 21-64 at Miller Park since the start of the 2007 season, and 60-103 overall against the Brewers during that same stretch.