Reynolds 2 HRs; Brubaker, Pirates top Red Sox, end 6-game skid

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Bryan Reynolds hit two home runs, JT Brubaker pitched seven shutout innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the Boston Red Sox 8-2 Thursday night.

The Pirates avoided a three-game sweep and sent Boston back to one game under .500 at 59-60. The Red Sox had won five of six to move closer to Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

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Reynolds hit a pair of two-run homers. He connected in the first, and his drive in the fifth was the 3,000th home run at PNC Park since it opened in 2001.

Reynolds and Kevin Newman each had three hits and scored three times.

Brubaker (3-10) allowed two hits, walked none and struck out seven. He gave up a leadoff single in the second to Alex Verdugo, who was caught stealing, and single to Xander Bogaerts with one out in the seventh.

Reynolds put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 in the first with a drive off Josh Winckowski (5-6) over the wall in right field. After Newman singled in the fifth, Reynolds hit his team-leading 20th home run for a 6-0 lead.

It was the third multi-homer game of Reynolds’ major league career and second this season. He has four home runs in his past four games.

Winckowski gave up each of Reynolds’ home runs and a double that Ben Gamel sent over a leaping Tommy Pham in left field, scoring Newman and Reynolds with two outs in the third. He got through five innings, allowing six runs on seven hits.

Pham got Boston on the board with an infield single off Zach Thompson in the eighth before Bobby Dalbec scored on a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 8-2. Manny Bañuelos struck out Verdugo on a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded to end the inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: LHP James Paxton left two batters into his first rehab start in the Florida Gulf Coast League on Thursday. Paxton signed with Boston in December after having Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in April 2021.

Pirates: C Tyler Heineman had an RBI single in the sixth, extending Pittsburgh’s lead to 8-0, in his first game since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. He had been out with right groin discomfort since Aug. 3.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: RHP Kutter Crawford (3-4, 4.18 ERA) will start Friday to begin a three-game series at Baltimore. He has allowed two runs or fewer in three of his past four starts.

Pirates: RHP Bryse Wilson (2-7, 5.93) will take the mound Friday for the first of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. He has allowed more than three earned runs once in seven starts since giving up seven in back-to-back outings on May 22 and June 14.