Luis Ortiz pitched seven scoreless innings, Oneil Cruz hit a home run and drove in three runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.
Ortiz (5-2), who hadn’t pitched more than six innings this season, allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two, lowering his ERA to 2.57.
“It feels great to throw seven scoreless innings,” Ortiz said. “I focus inning by inning, being aggressive with my first pitches and attacking the strike zone. The results showed today.”
Andrew McCutchen led off the sixth inning with a 431-foot home run into the left-center field bullpen off Cristopher Sánchez (7-5).
Nick Gonzales singled with two outs and scored on Cruz’s double off the right-field wall.
“I didn’t even realize we had won six straight,” McCutchen said. “It’s all about our mindset—show up, aim to win today. Our pitchers have been outstanding, and we’ve gotten key hits when needed.”
Cruz added a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning, driving a 422-foot shot off Matt Strahm to make it 4-0. He also had three RBIs in Friday’s game.
“Cruz performs well under pressure,” said Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton. “He’s stepped up his game, especially now that he’s healthy after dealing with injuries before the break. His contributions have been crucial and exciting to watch.”
Bryce Harper hit his 22nd homer of the season off Pirates closer David Bednar with one out in the ninth inning.
