6/21 Recap | Pirates 9 Twins 1

The Pirates dominated a baseball game on Thursday night. It started off early as the Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings, all thanks to Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen tripled and scored on a Garrett Jones infield single in the first, and then McCutchen drove in three more runs with a bases loaded double in the second inning. He would complete his big day at the dish with a single in the seventh.

Pedro Alvarez, Garrett Jones, and Rod Barajas all hit home runs. Alvarez’s was one of the furthest shots I’ve ever seen hit at PNC Park, hitting the top rail of the Clemente wall in left center field. A true blast. Alex Presley had two hits of his own, and Casey McGehee and Josh Harison also added hits to give the Pirates 12 on the night.

That was only half the story though. James McDonald pitched a complete game for his sixth win of the year. He gave up one run on six hits and struck out five. That lowered his ERA to 2.19 on the year, which is the fourth lowest mark in the National League.

You can’t dominate a game much more than the Pirates did yesterday, and they will look to carry this momentum into their weekend series with the Detroit Tigers.