Caleb Durbin and Brice Turang hit key run-scoring doubles to rally the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-5 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon.
The Brewers snapped a two-game skid and split the four-game series against the Pirates, who had won four of their previous five.
Trailing 5-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the Brewers put runners on second and third after Rhys Hoskins drew a walk from Pirates reliever Ryan Borucki (1-2) and Isaac Collins doubled with one out.
Durbin roped a ball off the left field wall to score Hoskins and Collins to tie the game. Turang then followed with a line drive down the left field line that scored Durbin, putting Milwaukee ahead by its winning margin.
Collins and Sal Frelick finished with two hits apiece for the Brewers.
Pittsburgh was led by Adam Frazier’s three hits and three RBIs. The Pirates had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, but after reaching on a single and advancing to second on a balk by Abner Uribe, Tommy Pham was picked off at second.
Uribe, who relieved Jared Koenig, struck out Andrew McCutchen to end the inning. Trevor McGill gave up an infield single in the ninth to Alexander Canario, who also had three hits, but retired Frazier on a groundout to pick up his ninth save.
The Brewers scored three runs in the first inning, breaking Pirates starter Bailey Falter’s scoreless inning streak at 17 1/3 innings. Falter pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out one.
Milwaukee rookie starter Logan Henderson threw five innings and allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out six.
Oneil Cruz hit his 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the third — a 432-foot blast that was clocked at 122.9 mph, making it the hardest hit ball ever tracked by Statcast, which began tracking exit velocities in 2015.
Bryan Reynolds was scratched from the Pirates’ lineup just before first pitch with what general manager Ben Cherington described pregame as “tightness in his trunk.”
