Pirates beat Marlins 6-3, 1 win from 1st sweep of season

MIAMI — Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled twice and survived a ninth-inning tumble on the pitcher’s mound in the game’s second failed attempt to catch a poup, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 6-3 Saturday night and move within a win of their first series sweep this year.

Miami catcher Nick Fortes homered and singled in his major league debut, a night after Payton Henry was behind the plate for the Marlins in his debut. They became the first teammates to debut as starting catchers on consecutive days since the St. Louis Browns’ Joe Jenkins and Jack Enzenroth on April 30 and May 1, 1914, according to STATS.

Cole Tucker had three hits for the Pirates and Bryse Wilson (3-7) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. Wilson had been 0-4 with a 5.09 ERA in seven starts since the Pirates acquired him from Atlanta July 30.

Pittsburgh, last in the NL Central at 56-92, is assured of winning four straight series for the first time this year.

The Pirates are 21-51 on the road. Pittsburgh hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .303 this season, led by Bryan Reynolds with a mark of .377.

The Pirates won the last meeting 2-1. Wil Crowe notched his fourth victory and Anthony Alford went 2-for-4 for Pittsburgh. Elieser Hernandez registered his second loss for Miami.

The Pirates have been swept in 16 series this season. They have have not swept a series since winning two games at St. Louis on Aug. 27 last year in a makeup doubleheader on what originally had been an off day.

Enyel De Los Santos and Sam Howard each pitched a perfect inning, and Kyle Keller threw a scoreless eighth.

Miguel Rojas singled leading off the ninth and Chasen Shreve relieved. After a pair of outs around a walk, Lewis Brinson hit an infield popup and Hayes ranged from third onto the pitcher’s mound, overran the ball and tumbled back off the mound as the ball fell for a single.

Shreve struck out Lewin Díaz for the final out.

Marlins rookie starter Edward Cabrera (0-2) allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits in four innings and threw two wild pitches, the first allowing Hayes to race home in the first inning. Hayes doubled and advanced on Fortes’ passed ball.

After pitching into the seventh inning against Washington in his debut on Aug. 25, Cabrera has not lasted beyond the fourth in his last four starts.

Pittsburgh increased its lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Tucker tripled and was thrown out at the plate by Díaz on Wilson’s grounder to first, Hayes doubled and Kevin Newman hit a popup to right to a single that hit off the glove of right fielder Jesús Sánchez, who charged into second baseman Jazz Chisholm.

Hoy Park’s two-run triple against Sean Guenther made it 5-0 in the fifth.

Fortes singled up the third for his first big league hit and the 24-year-old hit a two-run homer in the fifth off a sinker, a 413-foot drive to left-center. Fortes became the eighth Marlins player to homer in his first game.

Tucker’s two-out RBI single boosted the lead to 6-2 in the seventh.

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