Skenes = sweep: Pirates get fourth straight victory with sweep of Rockies
Pitching propels Pirates to 4th straight victory
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PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes pitched seven sparkling innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 4-0 on Sunday for their fourth consecutive win.
Jared Triolo hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had a run-scoring double. Triolo also went deep during Saturday night's 5-1 victory.
Skenes (8-9) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none. It was a much sharper performance by the right-hander than his previous start against Colorado, when he permitted four runs and five hits in five-plus innings in a no-decision at Coors Field on Aug. 2.
Pittsburgh outscored Colorado 18-1 while sweeping the weekend series between last-place teams.
Rockies right-hander McCade Brown (0-1) pitched 3ª innings in his major league debut. He was charged with four runs and five hits.
Triolo connected in the fourth, driving a slider deep to left-center for his fifth homer. Henry Davis then walked, swiped second and scored on Kiner-Falefa's double.
Skenes and Davis are the only batterymates in MLB history to be No. 1 overall picks -- Davis in 2021 and Skenes in 2023.
Jen Pawol -- the first woman to umpire in the major leagues -- made her second start behind the plate in her second series this season.
Key moment
The Rockies put two on with two out in the ninth against Dennis Santana. But Brenton Doyle bounced to second for the final out of the game.
Key stat
Skenes' 2.02 ERA through his first 50 starts is the second lowest in history. Athletics Hall-of-Famer Vida Blue had a 2.01 ERA.
Saturday's game
Andrew McCutchen and Triolo hit two-run home runs an inning apart to lift the Pirates to a 5-1 win over the Rockies on Saturday.
Doyle spoiled the shutout with a ninth-inning home run.
McCutchen opened the scoring in the second with his 12th home run of the season, pulling it just inside the left-field foul pole.
Triolo hit his home run an inning later to make it 4-0. He added a triple in the fourth and scored on Bryan Reynolds' double. The 2-for-4 game lifted his batting average above .200 for the first time this season, and he finished the day with a .205 average.
Rookie Mike Burrows led the Pirates pitching staff with four shutout innings of two-hit, five-strikeout ball. He was pulled after 57 pitches.
Burrows underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2023, and has pitched more innings (77 2/3) this season than any in his career since he was drafted out of high school in the 11th round in 2018.
Carmen Mlodzinski (3-7) got the win with two shutout innings in relief of Burrows.
Colorado's Kyle Freeland (3-13) allowed five runs and seven hits over five innings. He struck out six.
Up next
The Pirates open a four-game series at St. Louis tonight.