Three in a row for Pittsburgh as Bucs trounce Rox 11-4

The offense struck hard and Joe Musgrove pitched a quality outing as the Pirates defeated the Rockies at Coors Field 11-4. Musgrove went six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk.

A trio of Pirates hitters finished with three hits, Kevin Newman, Bryan Reynolds, Jacob Stallings, and accounted for six runs scored with five RBIs.

First baseman Josh Bell hammered home run number 35 450-plus feet for his only hit of the night in six at-bats (one strikeout). That’s three home runs in Bell’s last six games.

Two other Bucs cleared the outfield walls as well, Newman and Jose Osuna, taking advantage of the Coors atmosphere.

For all intents and purposes, the game was over by the close of the second inning, as the Pirates tacked on five runs.

The scoring started when Newman lead the game off with a solo home run which was later followed by a sacrifice fly from Colin Moran that brought home Reynolds.

Rockies starting pitcher Tim Melville continued to struggle in the second inning, allowing three singles to three of the first four hitters he faced. Rookie Reynolds then knocked in two of the three runners with a line-drive double to right field.

Pittsburgh added three more insurance runs in the seventh inning off Colorado reliever Jake McGee. With two out and Adam Frazier on first, Pablo Reyes drove a double into left field which brought in a run. A fielding error by McGee allowed Newman to reach base and Reyes to score from second on the blunder. Then Reynolds struck again with a double to left that knocked in the third run of the inning.

Michael Feliz and Parker Markel combined for five strikeouts in three innings, with Colorado fruitlessly tacking on a run in the eight via a Daniel Murphy home run.

The final game of the series will commence at 3:10 EST as the Bucs go for four in a row.