McCutchen leads off with home run for second day in row and Pirates beat Brewers 2-1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen led off the bottom of the first with a home run for the second straight game, Bailey Falter took a shutout into the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday night.

McCutchen hit the first pitch of Tobias Myers’ major league career down the left-field line for his 12th career leadoff homer and his 100th long ball at PNC Park. McCutchen connected off Joe Ross on Monday night in the Pirates’ 4-2 win.

McCutchen became the first Pirates player to hit a leadoff homer in back-to-back games since Adam Frazier in 2019. McCutchen is 5 for 8 in two games since manager Derek Shelton moved him to the top of the batting order, boosting his average from .173 to .233.

Pinch-hitter Connor Joe pushed the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

Falter (2-1) was lifted after Gary Sánchez's leadoff home run in the eighth — one of just three hits off the left-hander, who had eight strikeouts and two walks.

David Bednar pitched a perfect ninth for his second save in as many nights and fourth of the season in seven chances, finishing a three-hitter.

Pittsburgh has won the first two games of the four-game series after losing six straight. The Brewers arrived on a four-game winning streak.

McCutchen’s homer was the only run Myers (0-1) allowed in five innings. He yielded four hits while striking out four and walking one.

The 25-year-old right-hander was called up from Triple-A Nashville on Monday. He also spent one day with the Brewers on April 17 but then was sent back down to the minor leagues without having pitched.

Milwaukee is Myers’ sixth organization since he was selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2016 amateur draft. He also spent time with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, San Francisco and the Chicago White Sox.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: RHP Jakob Junis (right shoulder impingement) was back with the team and being observed for a possible head injury after being struck in the neck during batting practice a night earlier and taken to a hospital. Manager Pat Murphy said Junis, who is on the injured list with a right shoulder injury, was doing much better. … LHP Wade Miley (left elbow inflammation) underwent an MRI on Tuesday but the results were not immediately available.

UP NEXT

RHP Bryse Wilson (2-0, 3.29 ERA) starts for the Brewers on Wednesday night against his former team while rookie RHP Quinn Priester (0-1, 8.31) pitches for the Pirates.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb