Perrotto: Pirates’ Nightmare Showing Signs of Ending (+)

PITTSBURGH – Back-to-back offensive eruptions do not necessarily mean the Pittsburgh Pirates have broken out of their hitting slump.

But pounding out 17 hits in a game started by one of the best pitchers in the major leagues Friday night sure felt pretty good for a team in which reaching home plate has seemed more than reaching the peak of Mount Everest during the month of May.

“That was definitely a lot of fun,” Pirates right fielder Josh Palacios said with a smile.

The Pirates routed the Arizona Diamondbacks and Zac Gallen 13-3 in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park. And the Pirates got contributions up and down the lineup as they won for the third time in four games following a stretch of 11 losses in 12 games.