Alfonso Rivas is wasting no time making a favorable impression on his new team.
Rivas had a three-run homer and a triple among his three hits in his second game with Pittsburgh to help the Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Friday night.
The Pirates acquired Rivas from San Diego on Tuesday as part of a trade that sent pitcher Rich Hill and first baseman/designated hitter Ji Man Choi to the Padres.
“It felt good today,” Rivas said. “I haven't had one of those days in a while, so it's good to know that it's still in there.”
Bryan Reynolds also went 3 for 5 with a homer and a double. Henry Davis and Josh Palacios also went deep for the Pirates.
Milwaukee’s Carlos Santana, acquired from the Pirates last week, homered against his former team. Mark Canha went 3 for 5 with an RBI.
The Pirates were coming off a 14-1 loss at Milwaukee but capitalized on some good fortune to take command early this time. Rivas hit his three-run homer in the first and Davis delivered a two-run shot in the second as the Pirates grabbed a 6-2 lead against Colin Rea (5-5).
Rea has allowed nine homers over his last six starts. He struck out two but gave up eight hits, three walks and six runs over four innings.
“He just wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen him,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “They put good wings on him tonight for sure.”
Milwaukee maintained its half-game lead in the NL Central over Cincinnati, which lost 6-3 to Washington in 10 innings.
Pittsburgh capitalized on some good fortune in the first inning.
After Jack Suwinski drew a two-out walk, Davis hit an apparent inning-ending grounder up the middle, but the ball hit second base and bounced into center field for a single.
Rivas followed that up by sending a 3-2 cutter over the center-field wall.
“Sometimes you need a break,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We had a ball hit the bag and kind of kick up. That was the break we needed. I think that was the break Henry needed. He's been through a tough stretch. Sometimes you need something like that to kind of propel you a little bit."
Rea blamed himself for not responding well after Davis' hit.
“I’ve got to make better pitches after those types of things happen,” Rea said. “Getting into a 3-2 count there is not what you want to do.”
Milwaukee’s Joey Wiemer made a leaping attempt to rob Rivas of a homer and pounded his glove in frustration after he came down without making the catch. Rivas acknowledged after the game that he initially believed Wiemer caught the ball.
Pittsburgh's power surge continued the rest of the night.
Palacios and Reynolds hit back-to-back homers off Bryse Wilson in the sixth inning to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 8-3. Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy was ejected during that inning.
Milwaukee scored twice off Pirates starter Quinn Priester in the bottom of the first but couldn't do much more damage. The Brewers left 11 men on base and wasted a couple of prime opportunities.
They loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning but failed to score. They scored once in the seventh but left the bases full.
“We had runners on a bunch of innings for sure,” Counsell said. “We just didn't capitalize, unfortunately.”
Yerry De Los Santos (1-1) earned his first career win with one scoreless inning of relief.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Dauri Moreta went on the injured list with lower back soreness. The Pirates recalled RHP Andre Jackson from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Brewers: DH Jesse Winker is scheduled to start swinging the bat Saturday as he continues his recovery from a back injury that has kept him on the injured list since July 26.
UP NEXT
LHP Bailey Falter (0-7, 5.13 ERA) makes his Pirates debut Saturday, while the Brewers plan to start RHP Corbin Burnes (9-6, 3.44).
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