Sweep sends Bucs to All-Star break with .500 record
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The Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Joey Bart and Bryan Reynolds homered, Ke'Bryan Hayes had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their fourth straight game, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Sunday.
Nick Gonzales tripled and drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have won six of seven and reached .500 for the first time since April 27.
"We did what we needed to do to close it out," Bart said. "We've got to keep that momentum going once we get back."
Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. each had three hits for the White Sox, who have lost four straight and 10 of 13.
Chicago entered the day as the first team in MLB history with 70 losses before the All-Star break.
"I think this is a much-needed break for everybody," Benintendi said. "Just get away and get your mind off it for a little bit. It's not the first half we wanted, but we just gotta keep showing up, playing hard."
Quinn Priester (2-5) allowed a run in two innings for Pittsburgh.
Bart hit a three-run homer off Chad Kuhl (0-1) to put the Pirates ahead 4-2 in the fourth.
Gavin Sheets had an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth.
The Pirates pulled away with four runs in the seventh inning. Gonzales tripled off Jordan Leasure to bring in two runs when Benintendi was unable to make a diving catch in left field. Rowdy Tellez followed with a sacrifice fly before Hayes and Joshua Palacios hit back-to-back doubles to make it 8-3.
Reynolds hit a solo shot, his 18th of the season, off John Brebbia in the eighth. Reynolds stopped at second base when the ball became lodged in the center field fence before the umpiring crew signaled for a homer.
The White Sox loaded the bases twice but scored just once -- when Eloy Jiménez grounded into a double play in the first.
Oneil Cruz doubled off Kuhl to tie it 1-1 in the third.
The White Sox left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning after Benintendi homered for a 2-1 lead.
"We've got to reset the mind and make sure you don't stay four days without doing anything," Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. "It's important for us to get back playing baseball on Friday."
Mitch Keller allowed two runs in three innings for Pittsburgh to finish the first half with a 3.46 ERA.
Keller said he had issues with PitchCom early when a setting was on the wrong mode. The Pirates opted for a brief outing from their starter heading into the break.
"I guess I understand it. It's just tough to understand it," Keller said. "I want to be out there."
Jared Shuster threw 1ª scoreless innings for Chicago on a bullpen day.
The Pirates had not won four straight since March 28-April 1, when they took five in a row.
Saturday's game
Bryan Reynolds drove in four runs, Luis Ortiz pitched neatly into the sixth inning and the Pirates beat the White Sox, 6-2, on Saturday.
Reynolds had four hits. He gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead in the seventh with a two-run single against reliever Tanner Banks and singled in two more during a three-run ninth, sending the Pirates to their third straight win and fifth in six games.
"They keep going, they're grinding," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "They did some stuff late in the game today. I'm proud of them. We're playing good baseball right now, and we need to finish the first half strong."
Ortiz gave up one run and four hits over 5ª innings in his third start and 25th appearance. The right-hander struck out five and walked one in another strong outing after tossing six scoreless innings in Pittsburgh's loss to the New York Mets on Sunday.
"There were a few times that I went through some rough moments, but I was able to adjust it and do my job and get out of the inning," Ortiz said through an interpreter. "Just staying calm, in control and trusting my stuff, that was the most important thing."
Andrew McCutchen had two hits and scored a run before exiting with a sore left hamstring. He was back in the lineup as the designated hitter on Sunday.
Chicago's Chris Flexen (2-8) pitched into the seventh.
"You can't hide what everybody can see," Luis Robert Jr. said through an interpreter. "It's bad. We have to keep working hard to try to get a better second half."
Flexen exited with a man on first after Ke'Bryan Hayes singled on a hard smash that shortstop Nicky Lopez couldn't handle leading off the seventh.
Banks then hit pinch-hitter Connor Joe. Yasmani Grandal struck out attempting a bunt and slammed his bat before McCutchen singled to load the bases.
Reynolds then grounded a two-run single to right, putting Pittsburgh on top 3-1.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead when McCutchen led off the game with a line-drive double and scored from third on Oneil Cruz's fielder's-choice grounder.
The White Sox tied it in the sixth while chasing Ortiz. Pham led off with a single and scored from second on Robert's one-out single.
Ortiz exited with a runner on second after retiring Gavin Sheets on a fly. Kyle Nicolas (1-2) then got Andrew Vaughn to ground out and worked a perfect seventh.
The White Sox got a run in the eighth when Pham tripled against Aroldis Chapman and scored on pinch hitter Jiménez's groundout.
White Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames was thrown out by home plate umpire Malachi Moore with Chicago batting in the third. With one out, Pham took a called strike on a pitch near the knees from Ortiz. Pham was unhappy, and the White Sox got fired up, leading to Thames getting tossed.
Up next
The Pirates had yet to announce a starter for its series opener Friday against Philadelphia.