Cedric Mullins hit for the cycle and drove in three runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 6-3 defeat of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman had two hits each for the Orioles, who have won three straight.
With the Orioles trailing 2-1 and one out in the seventh, Mullins and Rutschman hit back-to-back doubles off Jose Hernandez (0-1) to tie the score. With two outs, Ryan Mountcastle grounded a single to center, scoring Rutschman.
In the eighth, Mullins batted with two outs and runners on first and third and lifted a fly ball to right for his fifth homer of the season, completing his first career cycle and making it 6-2. It was the seventh cycle in Orioles history.
The Pirates scored a run on a walk and two singles against Austin Voth in the ninth before Felix Bautista came on and struck out three straight batters for his ninth save.
Bryan Baker (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts for the win. Starter Kyle Bradish went six innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits. He struck out six.
Connor Joe homered for the Pirates, who have lost three straight and 10 of 11. Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo allowed one run on four hits over five innings. He walked five and fanned three.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the third. Ji Hwan Bae reached on an infield single, went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a ground out. With the infield in, Ke’Bryan Hayes grounded to shortstop, and Jorge Mateo’s throw home was wide as Bae scored.
Mountcastle led off the sixth with a fly ball down the right field line. Joe couldn’t make the sliding catch, and Mountcastle ended up on third with a triple. After Adam Frazier walked, Oviedo was lifted in favor of Dauri Moreta. Austin Hays was called out on strikes, but Moreta threw a wild pitch and Mountcastle raced home with the tying run.
With one out in the seventh, Joe hit a fly ball homer down the left-field line off reliever Danny Coulombe to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
–Field Level Media
