Offense breaks out as Pirates rip Brewers 12-5

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Frazier and Jacob Stallings homered and drove in three runs apiece, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates pound the Milwaukee Brewers 12-5 on Saturday.

Pittsburgh collected 14 hits for the second straight day, good enough for its first win streak since last September. Gregory Polanco had a home run and a double for his first two-hit game in 15 months. Colin Moran doubled three times, and Erik Gonzalez chipped in a two-run double in the seventh as the Pirates batted around against Milwaukee's suddenly vulnerable bullpen.

Pittsburgh's nine extra-base hits were a season high, and its run total matched the most surrendered by the Brewers this year.

Derek Holland (1-1) surrendered one run in five innings in his 300th major league appearance. The veteran left-hander allowed four hits in his first victory as a starter since April 9, 2019, for San Francisco.

The Pirates entered the weekend with the worst record in the major leagues after dropping 14 of 16. Their sputtering offense, however, has found a semblance of a groove against the Brewers. Pittsburgh's 19 runs against Milwaukee in the first two games of the series is one less than the club managed over its previous seven games combined.

Polanco, who came in hitting .085 in his return to the lineup following an injury-marred 2019, drilled a two-run homer off Josh Lindblom (1-1) in the third. Frazier led off the fifth with his fourth homer, and Stallings hit a two-run shot in the sixth as the Pirates built a six-run lead.

Keston Hiura drilled a three-run homer in the seventh off Pittsburgh reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, pulling Milwaukee within three. The Pirates responded in the bottom of the inning by sending nine runners to the plate, highlighted by Gonzalez's big swing.

Lindblom, signed as a free...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Offense-breaks-out-as-Pirates-rip-Brewers-12-5-15507794.php