Valdez continues power surge, leads Pirates to doubleheader sweep of Brewers

Esmerlyn Valdez added a few more firsts to his impressive rookie-season resume Saturday afternoon at PNC Park.

The 22-year-old outfielder punctuated his first career multi-homer game with a grand slam in the seventh inning that erased a three-run deficit and propelled the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-6 victory against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader.

Valdez went 3 for 4 with six RBIs. He also had an RBI single in the first inning and a solo homer in the third.

For good measure, Valdez hit a two-run homer in the nightcap, helping the Pirates complete the sweep, 3-2. They will try to win all three in the series Sunday, the final game before the All-Star break.

“Two huge wins,” manager Don Kelly said. “Two different ways we accomplished that today.”

After coming back in the opener, the Pirates lost a two-run lead in the second game before Bryan Reynolds pushed across the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the sixth.

At 49-47, the Pirates are guaranteed of having a winning record at the break for the first time since 2016.

One constant was Valdez, who had eight RBIs for the day.

“It’s a luxury,” said pitcher Braxton Ashcraft, who was on the hook for a rare loss in the opener until Valdez’s grand slam. “They don’t call him the magician for no reason.”

Valdez has pulled his share of rabbits from his hat lately. Since June 26, he has hit eight home runs.

“I did not imagine a day like this,” Valdez said through an interpreter, “but nothing is impossible.”

In 27 games since his June call-up, Valdez is batting .311 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs. He has emerged as a reliable RBI threat from the cleanup spot in the batting order.

“He’s a hitter,” Kelly said. “He’s not going up there swinging for the fences. He’s taken some big walks, he works the count, gets deeper in counts and finds ways to get big hits.”

Another constant in the doubleheader sweep was the work of a maligned bullpen. Seven relievers combined to limit the Brewers to one run in 8 1/3 innings. That included newcomer Brandon Eisert, who overcame two walks to escape a bases-loaded situation in the fifth inning of the second game with the score tied 2-2.

“Everyone did their job, right?” said Mason Montgomery, his earned his first save with the Pirates in the second game. “Your job is to come in and get through the inning and then however many innings you’re supposed to go. Everyone did that and passed it along to the next guy.”

The beneficiary of Valdez’s grand slam was Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3), who allowed one run in three innings of relief and was credited with the win. Gregory Soto escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth for his 12th save.

In the second game, Reynolds collected his 400th career extra-base when he hit a one-out double in the fourth. Valdez followed by sending a 1-1 pitch into the left-field seats.

Aaron Ashby (12-2) served up Valdez’s grand slam and took the loss in the opener.

The Pirates loaded the bases with nobody out. Reynolds struck out before Valdez went the opposite way, sending a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats to push the Pirates ahead.

“I threw the bat toward home plate on my way to first base and said, ‘I did it. I did it,’ ” Valdez said.

Still, he and his teammates had to sweat out a hectic ninth. Soto allowed a leadoff single and one-out walk. Jake Bauers hit a chopper to short that was too slow for a game-ending double play. The Pirates ended up getting nobody out when Jared Triolo bobbled the ball, and the Brewers had the bases loaded.

Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn followed with a sharper grounder to third. Nick Gonzales stepped on the base, then threw home, where Henry Davis tagged Garrett Mitchell for the final out.

In his last start before representing the Pirates at the mid-summer classic, Ashcraft didn’t craft an All-Star-worthy performance.

Ashcraft entered with a 9-3 record and 3.24 ERA, but he was roughed up for five runs in as many innings. He couldn’t protect a 3-2 lead in his final inning, giving up three runs, including a two-run homer by Sal Frelick that broke a tie score.

Frelick’s homer was the second surrendered by Ashcraft, who also gave up a two-run shot to Bauers in the second inning that erased the Pirates’ 2-0 lead.

“I’m not too happy with it,” said Ashcraft, whose previous loss was June 6. “I’m happy with getting the win there. That’s huge, but I think it boils down to fastball command and getting it in the zone when I want to.”

Valdez’s eighth homer provided the Pirates with a 3-2 advantage. The lead evaporated when the Brewers opened the fifth with doubles by Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt.

Frelick then lifted a 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats for his first home run since April 30. It made for a nice homecoming of sorts for Frelick, whose father, Jeff, is from Greensburg and played football at Pitt.

Ashcraft exited with the Pirates trailing by two runs, and the Brewers took a 6-3 lead with a run in the seventh.

“Fortunately, we have guys in there who can bang,” Ashcraft said. “It bails you out a little bit.”