Kuhl earns first win in 2 years as Pirates top Brewers 7-2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chad Kuhl pitched five effective innings for his first win in more than two years, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled by the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 on Friday night.

Kuhl (1-1) gave up a long solo home run to Ben Gamel in the second but otherwise kept the Brewers at bay to pick up his first victory since June 15, 2018. Kuhl missed the second half of 2018 and all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The Pirates backed Kuhl with a 14-hit attack after managing five runs total during a four-game slide. Bryan Reynolds had three hits and four RBIs, and Colin Moran and Cole Tucker also had three hits apiece.

Reynolds hit a solo homer off Adrian Houser (1-2) in the second and a two-run double in the eighth to give Pittsburgh's shaky bullpen plenty of cushion.

Christian Yelich hit his seventh home run for the season for the Brewers, but Milwaukee managed just five hits against Kuhl and five relievers. The Brewers have dropped three of four since taking three of four from NL Central-leading Chicago last weekend.

Houser, who limited the Pirates to one run in five innings on July 27, wasn't quite as efficient this time. He ran into trouble in the fourth when the Pirates turned five singles into three runs, helped by a rushed throw from Milwaukee shortstop Orlando Arcia that allowed runners to advance. Houser ended up working seven innings, allowing four runs and nine hits.

THE BIG 5-0

Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell celebrated his 50th birthday on Friday. The team “celebrated” by waking him up just past midnight while in the middle of the flight from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh.

“It was actually how I knew I was 50 because I was really tired and felt old and half asleep by midnight,” Counsell said.

The team put together a star-studded video that...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Kuhl-earns-first-win-in-2-years-as-Pirates-top-15506593.php