Bell homers again as Pirates cruise past Astros 10-0
By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Bell homered for the second straight game as one of five home runs by Pittsburgh as the Pirates routed the Houston Astros for the second game in a row with a 10-0 win on Thursday.
Former Astro Joe Musgrove (6-7) threw six scoreless innings for the win and Kevin Newman, Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte and Jacob Stallings added home runs for the Pirates to send Houston to its ninth loss in 11 games.
The Pirates picked up where they left off in Wednesday night’s 14-2 rout of Houston when Newman sent Brad Peacock’s first pitch of the game into the seats in left field for his first career leadoff homer. He has a career-long 17-game hitting streak, which is the longest active streak in the majors.
Houston starter Brad Peacock (6-6) allowed six runs in three innings, a game after Framber Valdez also made an early exit after the Pirates jumped on him for six runs through the first three.
There were two outs in the first inning when an RBI double by Colin Moran made it 2-0. Pittsburgh extended the lead to 4-0 when Dickerson, who tied a career high with four hits on Wednesday, homered to left field.
Marte started the third with a bunt single before Bell launched his 22nd homer onto the concourse in left-center to make it 6-0.
Marte opened the fifth inning with a home run off Cy Sneed, who was making his major league debut, and Stallings collected his first career home run when he added a solo shot with one out in the sixth.
Musgrove, traded to the Pirates in the deal that brought Gerrit Cole to Houston, picked up the win for the Astros in relief in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. He allowed nine hits in his first meeting with his former team, but they were all singles to allow him to keep Houston off the board.
The Astros remain firmly in first place in the AL West, but are in the midst of a tough stretch where their pitching outside of Justin Verlander and Cole has struggled. Houston went 1-6 on a road trip against Cincinnati and the New York Yankees, before losing two of three in this series.
Jacob Stallings added an RBI single for Pittsburgh in the eighth and Newman made it 10-0 with a run-scoring double.
Sneed allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings to save Houston’s taxed bullpen after being called up from Triple-A Round Rock before the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez left the game after the third inning because of discomfort in his left knee. … RHP Joe Smith (Achilles tendon) will pitch at Round Rock on Friday as he continues a rehabilitation assignment.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (3-6, 5.56 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh in the opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday night. Archer allowed just two hits and one run in five innings in his previous game against San Diego but did not factor in the decision.
Astros: LHP Wade Miley (6-4, 3.51) is scheduled to start for Houston to start a series against Seattle on Friday night. Miley allowed four runs in five innings in a loss to the Yankees in his previous start.
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Newman’s walk caps off Pittsburgh rally
By CHRIS MUELLER Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Newman walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning to cap a four-run rally as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 11-10 on Sunday.
The Pirates rallied from three-run deficits in the ninth and 11th innings to earn the series weep and improve their winning streak to five.
Jacob Stallings hit a pitch-hit, two-run single to tie the game at 10. The Pirates then loaded the bases before Newman’s sharp eye ended the four-plus hour affair. Francisco Liriano (2-1) earned the win, while Matt Wisler, who entered the game with one out in the 11th, took the loss.
After San Diego led 7-4 following an eighth-inning two-run single from Manny Machado, closer Kirby Yates — who was previously 26 for 26 in save situations — allowed three runs on three hits and a walk.
With runners on second and third, Newman started the comeback with an RBI single off Yates that scored Dîaz. Bryan Reynolds drove in Adam Frazier, and Melky Cabrera scored Newman on a dribbling ground-out to the pitcher two batters later to force the extras.
Pirates starter Steven Brault lasted five innings, giving up three runs (three earned) and six hits. Joey Lucchesi gave up four runs (four earned) and six hits on 86 pitches (56 strikes) over five innings.
Fernando Tatîs Jr. drove in a pair of RBIs and scored three runs. He tied the game in the sixth inning with an RBI single off Clay Holmes, and later scored on a two-out RBI single to right from Eric Hosmer as the Padres pulled ahead 5-4.
Tatîs Jr. went 3 for 4 with two walks, but it was the rookie’s legs that put the Padres on the board first. After reaching third, Tatîs Jr. tagged up on Hunter Renfroe’s pop-fly at the edge of the outfield grass near second base, and snuck his left arm just past Elias Dîaz’s outstretched glove to swipe home plate. He was initially ruled out, but the play was overturned after an official review.
Newman extended his hit streak to 14 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: General Manager Neal Huntington told reporters before the game that Francisco Cervelli “could very well” begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. Cervelli has not been medically cleared from the concussion he suffered on June 21.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (2-1, 4.12 ERA) will start on Tuesday as the Pirates begin a three-game series with the AL West-leading Astros.
Padres: LHP Logan Allen (1-0, 0.00 ERA), coming off seven scoreless innings in his first major league start, will take the mound against Baltimore on Tuesday to begin a two-game set.

Reynolds caps comeback with 3-run blast, Pirates beat Tigers
By WES CROSBY Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Coming off a hitless night, Bryan Reynolds told teammate Corey Dickerson he felt pressure to produce. Dickerson told the rookie to write a few things down to help him remember what he was doing, and what he was thinking, when he was hot.
Dickerson wasn’t sure if Reynolds took his advice, but the rookie turned it around on Wednesday night.
Reynolds had three hits, including a three-run homer in the sixth inning to complete the Pirates’ rally from a six-run deficit, and Pittsburgh beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7.
“He’s so simple,” Dickerson said. “He has a simple approach. When you’re simple like that, you’re going to have good contact.”
With the Pirates trailing 7-5, Reynolds sent a knuckle curve from Nick Ramirez (3-2) 421 feet to left-center for his sixth homer of the season, driving in Kevin Newman and Adam Frazier.
Felipe Vázquez retired the side in order in the ninth for his 17th save.
The Pirates trailed 7-1 after Detroit scored five times before recording an out in the third. Brandon Dixon took Trevor Williams deep for his eighth homer of the season, and Harold Castro followed with his first in the majors. It was the fourth time this season the Tigers have hit back-to-back home runs.
“We kind of got shut down,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We hit a few balls hard on the nose, but really got shut down. Momentum started changing a little bit.”
Dickerson cut it to 7-3 on a two-run double in the bottom of the third, and Starling Marte made it 7-5 with a two-run blast, his 11th, in the fifth.
“A couple big swings, one from Marte and one from Reynolds,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Dickerson, a two-RBI swing to get us back in it when we were down 7-1. There were three big swings that plated seven runs.”
Richard Rodriguez (2-3) worked a scoreless sixth for Pittsburgh after Williams gave up seven runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts in the first five innings. Williams came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start in more than a month after suffering a right side strain.
“I’m just thankful to be back out there, thankful to be coming off the mound healthy today,” Williams said. “I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about our team too.”
Ramirez allowed five runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings in relief of Jordan Zimmermann, who also came off the 10-day injured list Wednesday. Zimmermann gave up three runs on five hits in four innings after last pitching April 25 because of a UCL sprain.
“I’d like to go five innings and be out there as long as I can,” Zimmermann said. “Threw a lot of good pitches that they fouled off. It was just one of those games that was a grind.”
Newman’s double in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: OF Victor Reyes was optioned to Triple-A Toledo after Detroit’s 5-4 win Tuesday. He had been recalled from Toledo earlier that day and walked in a pinch-hit appearance.
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday. In his three starts with Pittsburgh, Keller is 0-1 with a 10.50 ERA. … RHP Jordan Lyles will make a rehab start Sunday with a farm club to be determined, Hurdle said. He has not pitched since June 8 because of tightness in his left hamstring. … A neurologist will examine C Francisco Cervelli on Tuesday. Cervelli has been out with a concussion since May 25.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Matthew Boyd (5-5, 3.35 ERA) will look for his first win since May 28 when he takes the mound against Cleveland on Friday. He gave up five runs, four earned, in four innings against Kansas City on June 13.
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (4-7, 4.87) will attempt to rebound against San Diego on Friday after surrendering six runs on nine hits to Atlanta in four innings his last time out on June 13. Musgrove was ejected with two outs in the first inning of his previous start after grazing Josh Donaldson with a pitch.
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Pirates rally for 5-4 victory over Marlins
MIAMI (AP) — Josh Bell’s go-ahead double in the seventh helped lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday.
The Pirates rallied from a 4-2 deficit on Corey Dickerson’s pinch-hit RBI double off Miami starter Sandy Alcantara in the sixth and took the lead in the seventh against reliever Nick Anderson (2-3) on Melky Cabrera’s game-tying triple and Bell’s double that scored Cabrera.
Cabrera went 2-for-4 and Kevin Newman also had two hits for the Pirates, who won the series after ending a seven-game slide Friday.
Richard Rodríguez (1-3) pitched a scoreless sixth and Kyle Krick got the next five outs. Felipe Vázquez pitched 1 1/3 innings around Austin Dean’s pinch-hit single in the ninth for his 16th save.
Alcantara gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings. He struck out and walked two.
The Marlins erased a two-run deficit, scoring four in the fourth on Harold Ramírez’s three-run home run and Alcantara’s RBI single. Ramírez drove Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer’s fastball over the wall in left-center for his second homer of the season.
Archer allowed four runs, seven hits, struck out eight and walked three in five innings.
Jung Ho Kang’s two-run double in the fourth gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Kang drove in Colin Moran and Bell, who reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on Moran’s single to right.
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Pirates: RHP Chris Statton (right side discomfort) allowed three runs (one earned) and five hits in two innings of relief in his second rehab relief outing Friday at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Marlins: After participating in pregame workouts during the Marlins home series with the Pirates, IF Neil Walker (right quadriceps strain) will continue baseball activities at the club’s Class A complex in Jupiter.
UP NEXT:
Pirates: Clint Hurdle had not disclosed the starter for Tuesday’s home game against Detroit.
Marlins: RHP Elieser Hernández (0-1) will start the opener of a four-game series at St. Louis on Monday. Hernández allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Cardinals on June 11.
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Pirates rout Marlins 11-0 to stop 7-game slide
MIAMI (AP) — Steven Brault nearly had a very brief outing.
Fortunately for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he stayed in the game.
Brault scattered eight hits over six innings, and the Pirates stopped a seven-game slide by routing the Miami Marlins 11-0 on Friday night.
Brault (3-1) was hit on his left leg by Starlin Castro’s line drive in the first, but it didn’t seem to affect him very much.
“That was not ideal, that’s not what we’re looking for, right in the shin,” Brault said. “When they came out we had a little laugh over it and I said, ‘I’m OK.’ You don’t feel it at first and when you stand up, ‘Oh yeah, that doesn’t feel great.’ I’m OK, it’s just a bruise.”
The left-hander struck out six and walked none. He also went 2 for 2 at the plate.
Colin Moran drove in a career-high five runs with two singles and a homer and Bryan Reynolds had a career-best four hits for the Pirates, who got their first win since June 6 against Atlanta. They finished with 18 hits, matching a season high.
The Pirates broke it open with a four-run fifth off Trevor Richards. Josh Bell tripled in Reynolds and scored on Moran’s base hit.
Moran’s three-run shot in the seventh increased Pittsburgh’s lead to 8-0. The former Marlins No. 1 draft pick drove Jeff Bigham’s fastball over the wall in left-center for his 10th homer.
“We have a lot of guys that can get on base,” Moran said. “When I’m in the five-hole guys are in scoring position and it’s a chance to drive in runs.
“We needed it. We came out and had a really good game to get it rolling now.”
José Osuna connected for his second pinch-hit homer of the season in the eighth, a two-run drive off Jarlin Garcia.
“The big bang late from Osuna was an exclamation point. Good hitting from top to bottom,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.
Three relievers pitched the final three innings for the Pirates.
Richards (3-7) allowed five runs and 11 hits in five innings. In his previous four starts, Richards limited opposing hitters to a .160 average in 24 2/3 innings.
“I wasn’t consistent with the fastball today,” Richards said. “They got me early in the count. It happens. I just have to do the adjustment and come back better the next time.”
Moran’s single to center drove in Starling Marté from second to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Marté reached on an infield single and advanced to second on Richards’ throwing error.
Brault escaped from a bases-loaded situation in the third when he struck out Jorge Alfaro.
“We had enough guys out there, enough traffic to put some multiple runs and get back in the game,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said.
ROSTER MOVE
The Marlins placed veteran infielder Martín Prado on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder Yadiel Rivera was promoted from Triple-A New Orleans and went 1 for 4.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (right side strain) showed no discomfort in his rehab start of three innings Thursday at Triple-A Indianapolis. … RHP Jameson Taillon (right elbow flexor strain) recently began gripping exercises and range of motion activities.
Marlins: RHP José Ureña (herniated disk) was placed on the 60-day injured list. The team’s opening-day starter the past two seasons, Ureña missed his scheduled start Wednesday, but the severity of the injury was not disclosed until Friday.
UP NEXT
Pirates: After seven seasons in the minor leagues, right-hander Dario Agrazal will be promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday and start the second game of the series. Agrazal, 24, is not on the 40-man roster after the Pirates designated him for assignment in January. He cleared waivers and the Pirates outrighted him to Indianapolis, where he is 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 49 1/3 innings.
Marlins: Pablo López (4-5, 4.26 ERA) will make his first career start against the Pirates. Lopez has completed six innings in each of his past three starts, allowing a combined two runs and 11 hits.