Gamel Propels Pirates Past Braves, 11-1

Left fielder belts two homers and drives in six runs

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Gamel homered twice and drove in six runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Atlanta Braves 11-1 on Monday night.

Gamel took Max Fried (5-5) over the fence in center field for a two-run home run in the fourth, doubled home Bryan Reynolds in the sixth and added a three-run shot in the seventh as the Pirates won their second straight following a six-game losing streak.

A day after driving in the winning run as a pinch-hitter in a 10-inning victory over Miami, Fried came back down to earth with his worst start since April. The Pirates touched the left-hander for six runs in five-plus innings as Atlanta missed a chance to get back to .500 for the first time since June 8.

Chase De Jong (1-3) survived a 36-pitch first inning to pick up the second victory of his five-year major-league career. De Jong struck out four and walked three to notch his first win since beating the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 28, 2018, while playing for Minnesota.

Having an offense that has struggled mightily in recent weeks helped.

Pittsburgh's 11-run outburst was one more than they scored all of last week while going 1-6.

Gamel has been one of the few bright spots in the lineup since being claimed off waivers from Cleveland in May. The well-traveled 29-year-old is hitting .312 (29 for 93) in his last 27 starts.

Ke'Bryan Hayes hit his first home run in nearly a month for Pittsburgh as the Pirates tied their season-high in runs.

Ronald Acuna and Freddie Freeman had two hits apiece for Atlanta.

The rest of the Braves managed just two hits against De Jong and four relievers.

Atlanta appeared ready to chase De Jong early. Acuna singled leading off the game and raced home when Freeman followed with a double to right that Phil Evans bobbled after chasing down.

A walk and a hit batter eventually loaded the bases, but De Jong survived further damage when Orlando Arcia lined out to shortstop.

De Jong settled down and Pittsburgh's offense picked up the slack. Gamel's blast in the fourth put the Pirates in front and by the time his second home run of the night cleared the fence in center field in the seventh, Pittsburgh was on its way to its most lopsided victory of the season.

NOGOWSKI ARRIVES

John Nogowski went 2 of 4 in his first start at first base after being acquired from St. Louis for cash considerations on Saturday. The 28-year-old Nogowski is hoping to kick start his career after hitting just 2 for 22 (.091) in 20 games with the Cardinals. Pittsburgh is in need of serious help at first with Colin Moran and Erik Gonzalez both on the 10-day injured list.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Pirates: LHP Steven Brault (left lat strain) is expected to make a rehab start in Florida at some point this week. Brault has been sidelined all season after being injured in mid-March.

METS 4, BREWERS 2

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers in a matchup of National League division leaders.

Edwin Diaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor.

Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings.

Omar Narvaez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Diaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities.

Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings.

CARDINALS 5, GIANTS 3

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Kwang Hyun Kim pitched seven scoreless innings, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run triple in the seventh for the first runs of the game and St. Louis snapped San Francisco's three-game winning streak.

Kim (3-5) allowed three hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Donovan Solano and Steven Duggar hit RBI singles in the ninth against Alex Reyes, but San Francisco's comeback bid fell short.

Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-3) didn't allow a hit until Nolan Arenado's one-out single in the seventh that started a two-run rally in what had been a scoreless game.

Alex Dickerson slugged a pinch-hit homer that held up on replay review.

MARLINS 5, DODGERS 4

MIAMI (AP) -- Jorge Alfaro hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning, and Miami ended Los Angeles' nine-game winning streak.

Alfaro drove a slider from Dodgers reliever Victor Gonzalez (3-1) to center field for his third homer of the season.

David Hess (1-0) picked up the win in his Marlins' debut. Anthony Bender pitched a scoreless ninth for his first major league save.

The Marlins erased a 2-0 deficit with a three-run third on RBI singles by Garrett Cooper and Miguel Rojas.

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler allowed four runs on five hits and struck out six in five innings. The right-hander walked two and hit a batter.

TWINS 8, WHITE SOX 5

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Rookie Bailey Ober pitched five scoreless innings for his first major league victory, Max Kepler homered twice and Minnesota held off Chicago.

Ober (1-1) hit the milestone in his seventh career start, with seven strikeouts and two hits and three walks allowed.

White Sox starter Dylan Cease (7-4) lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and three walks.

Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

TIGERS 7, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Wily Peralta threw seven scoreless innings in his longest big league outing since 2016 and Detroit beat Texas.

Zack Short homered for the Tigers, who have won three in a row and five of six. Former Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara twice drove in a run without a hit.

Peralta (2-1), back in the majors only three weeks, struck out six without a walk while throwing 61 of 91 pitches for strikes. hE allowed only three hits in his fourth start for Detroit.

Kolby Allard (2-5) struck out a career-high nine in his 5 1/3 innings, and only two of the five runs scored against the Texas lefty were earned.