Bart, Reynolds homer, Pirates beat White Sox 9-4
CHICAGO (AP) — Joey Bart and Bryan Reynolds homered, Ke'Bryan Hayes had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their fourth straight game, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Sunday.
Nick Gonzales tripled and drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have won six of seven and reached .500 for the first time since April 27.
"We did what we needed to do to close it out," Bart said. "We've got to keep that momentum going once we get back."
Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. each had three hits for the White Sox, who have lost four straight and 10 of 13.
Chicago entered the day as the first team in MLB history with 70 losses before the All-Star break.
"I think this is a much-needed break for everybody," Benintendi said. "Just get away and get your mind off it for a little bit. It's not the first half we wanted, but we just gotta keep showing up, playing hard."
Quinn Priester (2-5) allowed a run in two innings for Pittsburgh.
Bart hit a three-run homer off Chad Kuhl (0-1) to put the Pirates ahead 4-2 in the fourth.
Gavin Sheets had an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth.
The Pirates pulled away with four runs in the seventh. Gonzales tripled off Jordan Leasure to bring in two runs when Benintendi was unable to make a diving catch in left field. Rowdy Tellez followed with a sac fly before Hayes and Joshua Palacios hit back-to-back doubles to make it 8-3.
Reynolds hit a solo shot, his 18th of the season, off John Brebbia in the eighth. Reynolds stopped at second base when the ball became lodged in the center field fence before the umpiring crew signaled for a homer.
The White Sox loaded the bases twice but scored just once — when Eloy Jiménez grounded into a double play in the first.
Oneil Cruz doubled off Kuhl to tie it 1-1 in the third.
The White Sox left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning after Benintendi homered for a 2-1 lead.
"We've got to reset the mind and make sure you don't stay four days without doing anything," Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. "It's important for us to get back playing baseball on Friday."
Mitch Keller allowed two runs in three innings for Pittsburgh to finish the first half with a 3.46 ERA.
Keller said he had issues with PitchCom early when a setting was on the wrong mode. The Pirates opted for a brief outing from their starter heading into the break.
"I guess I understand it. It's just tough to understand it," Keller said. "I want to be out there."
Jared Shuster threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for Chicago on a bullpen day.
The Pirates had not won four straight since March 28-April 1, when they took five in a row.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: Outfielder Andrew McCutchen (left hamstring soreness) started as the DH after he left Pittsburgh's 6-2 win over Chicago on Saturday.
White Sox: Right-hander Michael Soroka (right shoulder soreness) left after throwing three pitches.
UP NEXT
Pirates: Pittsburgh had yet to announce a starter for its series opener Friday against Philadelphia.
White Sox: Chicago had not announced a starter for Friday's series opener at Kansas City.
