The Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies 8-4 on Sunday as their offense reached base 19 times and Xavier Paul hit a two-run triple.
Paul's triple keyed a four-run second inning. The Rockies scored one run each in the third and fourth innings on RBI singles by Todd Helton and Ryan Spillborghs, but the Pirates tacked on four more in the fifth, with a sacrifice fly by starting pitcher Charlie Morton, an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen, and a two-run single by Garrett Jones.
Morton was shaky, allowing five walks, and had to leave the game with one out in the sixth. Reliever Mike Crotta then allowed two of Morton's runners to score, but Joe Beimel finished the inning and stranded two runners, then pitched a scoreless seventh. The excellent Jose Veras and Joel Hanrahan, who have both been key members of a very tough Pirates bullpen, shut the Rockies down in the eighth and ninth.
The Bucs took two of three from the Rockies and will now continue their road trip with a series in San Diego.