Chavis, Alford Back Brubaker’s Strong Start as Pirates Beat Diamondbacks 4-2

For the first time since late April, the Pirates have won two consecutive series.

JT Brubaker pitched five scoreless innings, and the Pirates hit a pair of homers as the Bucs defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

In his five innings of work, Brubaker struck out six, walked three and allowed four hits on 86 pitches, 54 strikes. Brubaker picked up his first win since May 29, snapping a streak of nine straight losses when given a decision.

Michael Chavis recorded his first hit as a Pirate and it was a big one. He hit the first pitch of the third inning from Madison Bumgarner 429 feet over the left field wall, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. On the night, Chavis collected a pair of hits after an opposite-field single in the seventh.

Michael Chavis szn 🥶 pic.twitter.com/D4caWBISi4

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 25, 2021

Ke’Bryan Hayes followed Chavis’ third-inning hit with a triple to right, and Bryan Reynolds drove Hayes in with a sac fly, the 75th RBI of the season for Reynolds.

The Pirates struck again in the fourth when Anthony Alford hit a two-run homer to left field, his first of the year and first Since Sept. 2 last year.

Anthony got Al(ford) of it. pic.twitter.com/Hgwz7FrY9r

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 25, 2021

Ketel Marte came off the bench in the eighth and delivered a two-run homer off of Chasen Shreve, but that was it for the D-backs.

Chris Stratton picked up his second save of the season for the Pirates.

Arizona starter Bumgarner surrendered four runs in six innings of work, but became the 11th active pitcher to reach 2,000 career innings pitched.

The Pirates have now won back-to-back games and four out of their last five.

The final game of the series is Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m.. Pirates’ starter is listed as TBA. Tyler Gilbert (1-1, 2.04 ERA) will be on the mound for Arizona as the Diamondbacks look to salvage a game from the series.

Stat of the Game:

• Brubaker’s five innings of shutout ball was his best start in quite some time. Since the start of July, Brubaker has given up four-plus runs in six out of his last eight starts, an 8.84 ERA in that span. It was just the second time since June 14 that Brubaker didn’t allow a homer, a stretch spanning 10 starts (18 homeruns against him in that span). Tuesday’s performance was the second time Brubaker didn’t allow a run, the other was six scoreless innings against Colorado on May 29.

Takeaways:

⚾️ New Month, New-man: After doubling in the second and going 1 for 4 on Tuesday, Newman is hitting .293 (17 for 58) with 10 doubles and a homer in 20 games in August. On the month, Newman is slugging .517, compared to his .280 slugging percentage entering August action. He began play Tuesday tied with Cleveland’s Myles Straw for most doubles in August (9). 11 out of Newman’s 25 extra-base hits on the season have come since the calendar flipped, and he has hits in seven out of the last nine games he’s started, going 12 for 31 (.387).

⚾️ Hayes Hits a Triple: Hayes’ third inning triple was just his fourth extra-base hit in August – and first since he hit a double against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 12. Since coming off the injured list on June 3, Hayes entered play tonight with just a .109 ISO since then and a .119 mark on the year. It’s been a bit of a struggle for the 24-year-old to date in 2021. His wRC+ entering tonight’s game was just 89, compared to a 195 wRC+ in his rookie campaign a year ago, but after Tuesday he carries a four game hitting streak and has hits in 10 of his last 12 games.

⚾️ Duane UnderGOOD Jr.: After pitching two scoreless innings on Tuesday, Duane Underwood Jr. recorded his sixth straight scoreless appearance and seventh in his last eight tries. During that stretch, Underwood lowered his season ERA from 5.23 to 4.19. He has quietly had a nice year overall, and has turned himself into someone Derek Shelton has trusted to go more than an inning at a time. He’s recorded at least four outs in nine straight appearances dating back to July 25.