JT Brubaker ends skid, Michael Chavis, Anthony Alford homer as Pirates top Diamondbacks

JT Brubaker was closing in on three months between earning wins, a stretch the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander called a continuous cycle where he learned to focus on his next start instead of his last.

Brubaker got his groove back against the Arizona Diamondbacks, thanks to improved fastball command and a slider that was effective when he needed it most to win for the first time in 13 starts.

Thanks to five scoreless innings by Brubaker and home runs by Michael Chavis and Anthony Alford, the Pirates beat the Diamondbacks, 4-2, Tuesday night before 8,478 at PNC Park.

“It feels good just to get another number on the win column,” said Brubaker (5-13), who allowed four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. “It’s not a do-or-die because there’s a lot of outside sources that can happen. But to be able to get a W, it feels good.”

The Pirates (46-80) will go for their first sweep of the season on Wednesday night against the Diamondbacks (42-84), who have the worst record in the National League. The Pirates are 0 for 9 with a sweep on the line, the only team in baseball without one.

Brubaker earned his first win since a 7-0 win over Colorado in the first game of a doubleheader on May 29. In the 12 games between wins, he went 0-9 with a 7.08 ERA and allowed 18 home runs. Against Arizona, he gave up only one extra-base hit – a double by Josh Rojas in the third.

“I think it just helps you go home and sleep at night a little bit better,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “There’s games where he’s pitched pretty well and we didn’t score any runs for him and he hasn’t gotten a win. To be able to get that win and execute and be able to do that I think, is a big thing for a young pitcher.”

The first positive sign came when Brubaker got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. After David Peralta singled and Josh VanMeter drew a walk, Brubaker intentionally walked Nick Ahmed with two outs to get to pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who hit a 97.3-mph line drive directly to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes for the final out.

The Pirates responded by loading the bases against Bumgarner (7-8), who allowed four runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in six innings. Colin Moran hit a leadoff single and advanced to third on Kevin Newman’s double down the left field line. The Diamondbacks gave the Pirates a taste of their own medicine by intentionally walking Anthony Alford to load the bases for Brubaker, who grounded out.

Brubaker stranded runners at second and third base in the third, when he recorded three strikeout, including Peralata swinging for the third out.

The Pirates got a boost from a pair of players who joined the active roster on Monday. Chavis, acquired from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Austin Davis, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and led off the bottom of the third by belting a first-pitch cutter 429 feet to left field for his first homer with the Pirates for a 1-0 lead. Hayes followed with a triple off the Clemente Wall, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Bryan Reynolds for a 2-0 lead.

One pitch after Peralta crashed into the left field wall to catch a Newman fly ball, Alford crushed a Bumgarner fastball for a two-run homer that sailed 396 feet and increased the Pirates’ lead to 4-0.

“I honestly didn’t think it was going to get out,” said Alford, who came off the injured list Monday after being out with a lower back strain. “I guess I just hit it to the right part of the field.”

Shelton marveled over Alford’s “pure strength” for hitting a ball at a 46-degree launch angle into the left field bleachers.

“It’s just a fly ball,” Shelton said, “that he’s so strong it just kept going.”

The Diamondbacks had one of their own. After Asdrubal Cabrera hit a leadoff double to right-center – the ball nicked the glove of a diving Reynolds – pinch-hitter Ketel Marte smashed a 435-foot homer to left off lefty Chasen Shreve for a homer to cut it to 4-2 in the eighth.

Chris Stratton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save.

The Pirates were sparked by their newcomers, who are being given a chance to compete for starting jobs. Chavis, who went 2 for 4 with a run scored from the leadoff spot, started at second base and switched to first. Alford started in left field and went 1 for 2 with an intentional walk.

“I think it helps,” Shelton said. “You come over to a new club or you get called up and you’re trying to immerse yourself into the culture in numerous ways. To have success right off the bat is extremely important. I think it makes guys breathe a little bit easier.”

No one was breathing easier than Brubaker, who is looking forward to a chance to refresh now that his losing streak is in the rear view.

“I’ll say this, it’s a lot easier to build off of a good start and continue the momentum instead of trying to build off of a bad start where you’re wondering what can happen next,” Brubaker said. “It’s definitely more of a mindset of, ‘OK, I found my groove, now let’s just roll with it.’”