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That’s another win for our Pittsburgh Pirates, who have now won two games in a row and four out of their last five. They got two big homers — one, a solo shot from Michael Chavis in the third and the other a two-run dinger by Anthony Alford in the fourth — while pitcher JT Brubaker looked more like the guy who started the season than the guy who’s struggled of late. He went five innings, giving up no runs on four hits and striking our six to spearhead the Pittsburgh victory.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, Michael Chavis!
— AT&T SportsNet™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) August 25, 2021
Batting out of the leadoff spot tonight, Chavis hits his 1st HR with the @Pirates! #LetsGoBucs have added a Sac Fly from Bryan Reynolds to take a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning live on AT&T SportsNet! pic.twitter.com/FbG9zXnwa0
Anthony Alford - Pittsburgh Pirates (1) pic.twitter.com/S3Mws8kemY
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 25, 2021
Pittsburgh’s other run came on a sacrifice fly by Bryan Reynolds in the third that scored Ke’Bryan Hayes, who hit his second triple of the season. But the big story was the first homer of the season for Alford and the first homer in a Buccos uniform for Chavis.
Chavis was also the only Pirates batter to have a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4. Kevin Newman doubled to round out your notable plate appearances.
The Diamondbacks hit a rally in the top of the eighth, when pinch hitter Ketel Marte went yard for a two-run shot off of Chasen Shreve, but Arizona would get no closer, and Chris Stratton closed the door in the ninth for his second save of the season. Looks like he’ll be combining with David Bednar on closer duties for the rest of the year.
The Bucs are playing decent ball right now, and they’ll look to sweep the Diamondbacks Wednesday night before starting a four-gamer in St. Louis on Thursday.