Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs as the Pirates bounced back in a big way, beating the Indians 9-2.
The game was close until the late innings. Asdrubal Cabrera put the Indians up 1-0 with a homer in the first, but Alvarez reached down to hit a line-drive solo homer of his own in the top of the second. The Pirates then took a one-run lead after a series of singles in the third, although Casey McGehee's double play ended what could have been a long inning. In the fifth, A.J. Burnett left a fastball up for Casey Kotchman, who drilled it over the right-field fence to tie the game. (This wasn't Burnett's best game, as he allowed two homers and walked four, but those two solo shots were the only runs he gave up in 6.2 innings.)
In the sixth, though, the Pirates took a 4-2 lead when Garrett Jones singled and McGehee caught hold of a hanging breaking pitch for his third homer of the year. Alex Presley hit a solo homer in the seventh. Then in the ninth, McGehee hit a two-run single for his third and fourth RBIs of the game, and Alvarez brought McGehee home with a two-run blast off lefty Nick Hagadone.
It was a huge day for Alvarez, whose home runs today were only his second and third since May 3.