Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen homer as Pirates extend winning streak

With A.J. Burnett starting against unimpressive journeyman Sean O'Sullivan and a rebuilding team, the Pirates should have won this game against the Phillies, and they did, as Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen homered in a relatively easy 7-2 win.

The Pirates got on the board first in the fourth. O'Sullivan hit Starling Marte, and Pedro Alvarez singled. Harrison then deposited a high 89-MPH fastball in the seats in left field to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead. These kinds of moments have been few and far between this season. Here's hoping this one signals the coming of many more.

The Phillies cut the lead in a sixth inning keyed by ground-ball doubles from Andres Blanco and Ben Revere, but they would only get two runs, in part because of a ridiculous leaping catch by Jung-Ho Kang. Then, in the top of the seventh, Harrison and Francisco Cervelli walked, Burnett moved them up with a sacrifice, and Gregory Polanco brought both runners home with a line-drive single. Polanco then came home when McCutchen homered to left center. McCutchen didn't even seem to hit the ball that squarely, and it still went over a 387-foot sign. He's now had extra-base hits in five of his last six games.

Burnett departed after the seventh, having allowed two runs while striking out five and walking one against his former team. Rob Scahill and Arquimedes Caminero pitched scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to end it. The win was the Bucs' fourth straight, and it puts them back above .500, at 17-16.