McCutchen's homer leads Bucs over Brewers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - After missing Saturday's game with a knee injury, Andrew McCutchen returned to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
McCutchen's three-run home run in the sixth inning gave Pittsburgh the lead for good and he added an RBI hit in the ninth when the Pirates blew the game open.
Casey Sadler (1-0) was solid in his first major league start, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk in five innings with five strikeouts. He was called on to start after Francisco Liriano was placed on the paternity leave list.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You think you're missing Liriano and getting a break," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "Sometimes you think you're getting a break, and you're not."
Milwaukee was only down two entering the ninth, but Khris Davis dropping a fly ball paved the way for six unearned runs to be charged to the line of Tyler Thornburg.
Kyle Lohse (0-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks. The Brewers got both of their runs on a Carlos Gomez homer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After allowing four first-inning runs on four extra-base hits on Opening Day, Lohse began his second start with a 1-2-3 inning. He retired the first seven batters he faced before Tony Sanchez singled in the third. Sanchez later scored when Gregory Polanco's line drive went off second baseman Scooter Gennett's glove and into right field.
The Brewers were able to respond immediately. Sadler also got through his first two innings easily but ran into trouble when Hector Gomez led off the third with a double. Lohse failed to get the sacrifice bunt down, but Carlos Gomez followed him with his first home run of the season to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.
Polanco led off the sixth with a double, and Jordy Mercer followed with a single before McCutchen's opposite-field home run gave Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pirates' bullpen was not threatened after Sadler's exit in the fifth. The tying run reached base with one out in the seventh, but Gerardo Parra's infield fly with one out led to the Brewers squandering the opportunity.
With one down in the ninth and pinch-runner Sean Rodriguez at first base, Sanchez hit a line drive to Davis in left field. He could not secure the catch, and the game spiraled out of control. Former Brewer Corey Hart drove in Rodriguez with a single, and Mercer and McCutchen added two-out run-scoring singles before Neil Walker's three-run homer put a cap on the big inning.
Radhames Liz struck out two Brewers in the ninth to wrap up the series win for Pittsburgh.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's always good to win the series," McCutchen said.
Game Notes
Sanchez had the first three-hit game of his career ... Pittsburgh out hit Milwaukee 13-5 ... Pirates outfielder Starling Marte struck out four times ... On Monday, Pittsburgh hosts Detroit for its home opener while Milwaukee hits the road for the first time this season, starting with St. Louis' home opener.