For the second consecutive day, Pedro Alvarez hit a pair of home runs to lead the Pirates to a 9-5 win over the Cleveland Indians Sunday afternoon. Both home runs were three-run shots, as Alvarez ended the day with 6 RBIs and a double for good measure.
The game got off to a shaky start for the Pirates, as another poor start for Brad Lincoln almost spelled doom for the Bucs. His day was done after allowing four earned runs and eight hits in 3.1 innings.
The Indians went to work early, making the score 1-0 in the first on a Jason Kipnis home run, then 2-0 on a Casey Kotchman RBI single.
In the fourth, "El Toro" struck for the first time, hitting his first three-run shot to make the score 3-2. Cleveland would answer in the bottom half when Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run double that scored two to give the Tribe a 4-3 lead.
The Pirates would then break the game open in the top of the sixth in an inning that began with Alex Presley's second home run in as many games to tie the game at four. Then, with the bases loaded, Casey McGhee hit what appeared to be a double play ball to Asdrubal Cabrera, instead Cabrera made two errors on the play to score two runs.
The next batter was Alvarez who clubbed his second three-run shot of the game to put the contest away.
After an off day, the Pirates will return home to begin a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
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