MILWAUKEE _ Andrew McCutchen ruined a few dinners Monday night. His two-run, opposite-field home run off Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Matt Garza in the sixth inning cleared the wall by a hair and crashed in a picnic area beyond the right-field fence at Miller Park.
McCutchen's blast chased Garza and awakened the offense in the Pirates' 8-1 win over the first-place Brewers, capturing the opening game of a four-game series in Milwaukee. They then punished reliever Wily Peralta with five consecutive baserunners to start a four-run seventh.
Right-hander Gerrit Cole made the run support count, allowing three hits over seven innings of one-run baseball. He walked two and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 4.28.
McCutchen paced the Pirates' 11-hit performance with two hits and three RBIs, bringing his batting average to .261. Gregory Polanco had two hits, and David Freese was 2 for 3 with a walk.
The Pirates (32-38) arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday night after dropping two of three games at home against the Chicago Cubs. Pittsburgh sat six games behind the Brewers (38-34) entering their four-game series at Miller Park, their first of three trips there this season. Milwaukee was five games over .500, the Cubs were at .500, and the rest of the division was in the red.
"Trying to find our way," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It's kind of like those races you see where everybody starts off and you stay kind of jumbled, and somebody is looking to make a break at some point in time."
If Hurdle was referring to a peloton _ the pack of riders in a bicycle race _ note the breakaway riders typically take off far earlier than this, and they are almost always caught before the finish line. Perhaps the pack isn't a bad place to be, but the Pirates must start to advance soon, as a continued slide before the All-Star break would increase the likelihood of a trade-deadline fire sale.
"I'm glad it's happening right now," Hurdle said regarding the road trip to Milwaukee. "It's a good opportunity for us, where we are at this time in the season, to come in and play the first-place team for four games. Wonderful."
This season, Cole has seen home runs fly off bats at an alarming rate. That's how the Brewers opening the scoring Monday, with Travis Shaw smacking a second-inning solo shot into the bullpen in left-center field for his 13th home run this season. It was home run No. 16 allowed by Cole this season, already well beyond his previous career-high of 11 set in 2014 and 2015.
The Pirates cracked back quickly. Leading off the third, Francisco Cervelli walked. Jordy Mercer sprayed a single the other way, extending his hitting streak to nine games. The runners moved into scoring position on Cole's sacrifice bunt. The lineup turned over, and Adam Frazier snuck a two-run, seeing-eye single into left field, with Mercer crossing just ahead of the throw.
By the sixth, Garza seemed to tire. After Freese roped a leadoff single, Garza fell behind 2-0 on McCutchen with one out. The starter was in a bad spot, as McCutchen has a 1.210 OPS in his career when hitting a 2-0 pitch into play. Garza's fastball was off the plate away, but higher than the previous two, and McCutchen ripped it just over the right-field wall.
McCutchen's homer, his 13th this season, was No. 29 against the Brewers since 2009, second-most among opposing players behind the former Cincinnati Reds slugger Jay Bruce (30).
The Pirates piled on in the seventh against the reliever Peralta. Hurdle left in Cole to lead off, despite the fact he was at 96 pitches. Cole singled. Frazier walked. Josh Harrison and Polanco singled, and left fielder Hernan Perez tripped over his feet for a run-scoring error. Freese bounced an infield single. McCutchen sent a sharp single to center for an 8-1 lead.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell lifted Peralta after he was charged with four earned runs.
Hardly bothered by the extended inning, Cole emerged for the seventh and spent just seven pitches to retire the side in order. After allowing 21 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings over four starts from May 22 to June 8, Cole has gone seven innings with one run allowed in his past two starts.
