The Pirates moved to within a half a game of first place as Andrew McCutchen and A.J. Burnett led the Bucs to a 3-2 victory over the Royals Sunday afternoon.
The Pirates are currently 32-27. The first-place Reds, currently 32-26, host the Detroit Tigers Sunday night at 8:00.
McCutchen knocked in an RBI double in the bottom of the first inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead, then hit a two-run homer in the third to put the Pirates up 3-0.
Burnett, meanwhile, took a no-hitter into the sixth. In the seventh, Brayan Pena and Alcides Escobar both doubled to cut the lead to 3-1. The Pirates allowed another run in a walk-filled eighth, but outfielder Mitch Maier — who had duped the umpires by faking an amazing diving-over-the-wall catch in the bottom of the seventh — was rung up looking with two outs and the bases loaded.
Jason Grilli, who came on to pitch the ninth to give Joel Hanrahan some rest, notched the save.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Royals, there’s Royals Review.