Happ, Cards bullpen combine on 1-hitter, top Pirates 4-1
By JOHN PERROTTO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — J.A. Happ combined with a trio of relievers on a one-hitter, Tommy Edman and Paul DeJong homered early and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the skidding Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1. Happ retired the first nine batters, then gave up rookie Hoy Park’s first career home run to lead off the fourth inning. Making his second start for the Cardinals since being acquired from the Twins in a July 30 trade, Happ struck out five and walked two. Happ took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Pirates on April 23 at Minnesota and wound up allowing one hit in 7 2/3 innings.

Suárez, Votto homer to help Reds beat Pirates 7-4
CINCINNATI (AP) — Eugenio Suárez and Joey Votto hit three-run homers in Cincinnati’s six-run second inning, powering the Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Jonathan India also went deep and pitcher Sonny Gray helped himself with two hits as second-place Cincinnati gained a half-game on idle NL Central-leader Milwaukee and a full game on San Diego, which has a three-game lead over the Reds for the second wild-card slot. The Brewers lead Cincinnati by seven games. Gray gave up six hits and four runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Jeff Hoffman and Justin Wilson combined for three scoreless relief innings before Mychal Givens pitched the ninth for his first save.

Pinch-hit HR by Tellez gives Brewers 4-2 win over Pirates
By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez launched a three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to put the Milwaukee Brewers ahead for good in a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Devin Williams worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn his first career save. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds went 2 of 2, walked twice and scored both of the Pirates’ runs. The Brewers won two of three from the Pirates and remained 7 1/2 games ahead of Cincinnati in the NL Central.

Escobar homers, triples as Brewers defeat Pirates 6-2
By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run homer and an RBI triple to back up Eric Lauer’s five shutout innings in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Escobar’s two-out triple off Kyle Keller in the sixth extended the Brewers’ lead to 2-0. He followed that up by sending a 421-foot drive to right against Nick Mears in the seventh. Escobar also walked twice to reach base on each of his four plate appearances. This marked his first home game for the Brewers since Milwaukee acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Piña hits 2 HRs, drives in 5 runs as Brewers sweep Pirates
By ALAN SAUNDERS Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Manny Piña hit two homers and drove in a career-high five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-0. Piña hit his sixth home run of the season off reliever Chris Stratton to cap a big sixth inning for the Brewers, and then added a two-run homer in the eighth inning. The Brewers outscored Pittsburgh 28-3 while sweeping the series and have won five of their last six. Milwaukee has increased its lead over second place Cincinnati in the NL Central to seven games.

By JOHN PERROTTO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lorenzo Cain and Luis Urias hit two-run doubles, Adrian Houser pitched five scoreless innings and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 on Wednesday night. Cain’s hit in the fourth inning pushed the Brewers’ lead to 3-0. Urias’ double came during a three-run sixth that made it 6-0. Houser allowed two hits while striking out two and walking one. He is 4-0 in his last 11 starts and the Brewers have won each of his last eight outings. Pirates rookie Rodolfo Castro became the first player in major league history to have his first five hits all be home runs.

By JOHN PERROTTO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Omar Narvaez homered and had four RBIs, Brett Anderson pitched six strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers scored eight runs in the first two innings to roll past the Pittsburgh Pirates for a 9-0 victory on Tuesday night. Narvaez’s home run started a three-run first inning, and his two-run single highlighted a five-run second against Luis Oviedo, who was making his first major league start. Anderson yielded three hits while striking out three and walking one. He has won both starts against the Pirates this season, allowing one unearned run in 13 innings. He is 5-1 against them lifetime.