Andrew McCutchen hit a leadoff homer in the first inning, Bailey Falter threw seven-plus effective frames and the host Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday.
Falter (2-1) was working on a shutout before Gary Sanchez homered to lead off the eighth inning, cutting the Brewers’ deficit to 2-1.
The was final pitch for Falter, who allowed one run on three hits and two walks. He tied a career high with eight strikeouts for the Pirates, who have won consecutive games after a six-game losing streak.
Pirates reliever Colin Holderman threw the eighth inning, and David Bednar tossed a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Milwaukee’s Tobias Myers (0-1) gave up one run on four hits in five innings during his major league debut. He walked one and recorded four strikeouts. The Brewers have lost two in a row to open the four-game series after winning four straight.
For the second straight game, McCutchen led off the bottom of the first with a home run to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates had a chance to add to it in the second. With two outs, Oneil Cruz reached on a single to center and Joey Bart followed up with a ground ball single to right field. Cruz advanced to third on a wild pitch, but he and Bart were left stranded when Michael A. Taylor popped out to end the inning.
Milwaukee had an opportunity in the top of the third. Joey Wiemer picked up the Brewers’ first hit of the night with a leadoff single to left-center and then Brice Turang’s ground-ball single allowed Wiemer to move to third. After Jackson Chourio struck out, Turang stole second during William Contreras’ at-bat.
Contreras reached on a fielder’s choice, but Wiemer was caught and tagged out between third and home on the play, and then Willy Adames grounded out, leaving the Brewers empty-handed.
Jared Koening came in for Myers in the bottom of the sixth, and the Pirates took advantage.
After Bryan Reynolds reached on a ground-ball single, Ke’Bryan Hayes connected on a base hit to give Pittsburgh two on with no outs. Pinch hitter Connor Joe singled on a sinker, driving in Reynolds to make it 2-0.
