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Three more games, three more wins for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team swept the Miami Marlins in a three-game set this weekend, beginning with Friday’s 4-3 victory before winning 5-1 and 3-0 games on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his 20th and 21st homers in the series, while Andrew McCutchen crushed number 22 on Friday.
McCutchen now sits second on the National League home run leader board while Alvarez ranks third.
Today, McCutchen collected two hits in four at bats to raise his season average to an astounding .372 – best in Major League Baseball by a sizeable margin.
Jeff Karstens started the game and pitched a seven-inning shutout gem, giving up just five hits along the way. He only recorded three strikeouts but only gave two free bases, lowering his season ERA to 3.52 over eight starts.
Jared Hughes and Joel Hanrahan each pitched a shutout inning of relief with Hanrahan picking up his 28th save of the year.
The Pirates are now 54-40 – a two decade best 14 games over .500 – and 32-18 at home, the best mark in Major League Baseball.
The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 today, keeping the Pirates a half game out of first in the NL Central but 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the first wildcard spot.
The Bucs start another home series tonight at 7:05, this time with the Chicago Cubs.
Jeff Samardzija gets the ball for Chicago, facing Pittsburgh’s Erik Bedard. Both starters have ERAs of 4+.
The Cubs are on a three game losing streak, while the Pirates haven’t lost in their last five.
Let’s Go Bucs.
Follow Troy on Twitter @TroyPfaff for more Pittsburgh Pirates content
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