MILWAUKEE _ What has happened to the House of Horrors?
The Pirates, powered by a six-run first inning, breezed to a 7-3 win Tuesday at Miller Park, ensuring them at least a series split against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Pittsburgh has won eight of its past nine games at the ballpark that once haunted the ballclub. Lately, not even the ghosts of the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee have given the visitors trouble.
"Nothing I can really point to," manager Clint Hurdle said before the game, searching for clues about his team's turnaround, "other than a really good brand of baseball."
The reasons the Pirates (33-38) won Tuesday were easier to spot.
Andrew McCutchen was 3 for 3 with a home run, a walk and three RBIs. Jose Osuna hit a three-run homer off right-hander Zach Davies in the first-inning rally. And Josh Harrison paid the price for offense, wearing two baseballs to bring his league-leading hit-by-pitch total to 14.
The daily McCutchen tracker continues. Since bottoming out at .200, sitting out of the lineup for two days in Atlanta and moving to the six spot in the lineup May 26, is 34 for 85 (.400) with eight home runs, 12 walks, 14 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs.
Eric Thames, with 20 homers this season, has been hopeless so far this series. In nine at-bats against Pirates pitching the past two days, he had six strikeouts and no hits.
On Monday, after Gerrit Cole's single sparked a four-run seventh inning, Hurdle remarked, "A lot of times, those rallies start real innocent." The same was true Tuesday when, with one out in the first, Harrison was hit by a 90-mph fastball from Davies. While going from first to third on Gregory Polanco's single, Harrison was hit in the back with a throw.
David Freese bounced a run-scoring grounder up the middle. Elias Diaz _ a late substitute for Francisco Cervelli, who was scratched from the lineup because of flu-like symptoms _ loaded the bases with a bloop single. After fouling off four pitches, McCutchen worked the count full before drilling a two-run single over the shortstop.
The next batter, Osuna, started at first base Tuesday night because Hurdle, having decided to give Josh Bell a day off from starting, liked the aggressiveness of Osuna's swings May 7, when he homered off Davies at PNC Park. Osuna sent Davies' third offering Tuesday over the wall in left-center field for his fifth home run this season, giving the Pirates a 6-0 lead.
As a general rule, when a starting pitcher comes to bat before he pitches, he has received some cushion. Chad Kuhl stepped into the batter's box with only one out and Jordy Mercer standing at third base after tripling. Mock applause circled Miller Park after Kuhl struck out, and leadoff man Adam Frazier grounded out to end an inning in which he committed the first and final outs.
McCutchen's second at-bat, in the third inning, concluded with a 408-foot rocket down the left-field line. It was McCutchen's 14th home run this season, his second this series and his 30th against the Brewers _ tying him with Jay Bruce for most homers among opposing players.
On Tuesday, Kuhl was shaky at times but seemed to buckle down in big moments. He was charged with two runs over five innings, allowing seven hits and two walks. He has pitched beyond the fifth inning since April 18, a span of 11 starts. His ERA dropped 15 points to 5.46.
Kuhl stranded runners in scoring position in four of five innings.
The Brewers' Nick Franklin led off the second inning with a solo shot into the Brewers bullpen, just his second home run this season. A walk, single and sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third before Kuhl whiffed Eric Sogard and Thames. The next inning, Franklin ripped an RBI double to center, ending the Brewers' streak of 17 consecutive runs coming via home run.
Kuhl's velocity continues to climb, as he hit 98.6 mph in the first inning, but his slider also played a pivotal part Tuesday. He used the pitch to end each of his strikeouts, all six of which occurred with at least one runner in scoring position. Not an ideal amount of traffic, clearly, but on this night Kuhl had the right stuff to limit the damage. He also had plenty of run support.
