Pirates defeat Twins, Orioles, appear unstoppable

Like an action-movie star in hand-to-hand combat with a bunch of faceless villains in black, the Pirates took on not one, but two major-league baseball teams Sunday afternoon, and sent both of them hurtling backwards with roundhouse kicks. The World Series awaits, surely.

In a 7-4 victory against the Twins, Jonathan Sanchez gave up two runs in two innings (with only one walk, though!), but the Pirates scored four against Liam Hendriks, on homers by Gaby Sanchez, Tony Sanchez and Andrew McCutchen. The Bucs got three more in the seventh on a series of walks and singles.

In their 5-2 win over the Orioles, Gerrit Cole picked up the win while allowing two runs over four innings, with the two runs coming on a homer by Ryan Flaherty. The Bucs' relievers struck out seven batters in their five frames, with Ryan Reid (above) striking out the side in the ninth. Reid, who whiffed 79 batters in 79 innings for Triple A Durham last season, is too old to be a prospect, but he'll be a player to watch in the Indianapolis bullpen. Matt Hague collected three hits for the Bucs.