August 18

Brubaker pitches for Pittsburgh against Winckowski as the Sox look to sweep the Pirates before heading into a dreaded stretch against divisional opponents. Both starters are from Ohio. With a runner at first and one out in the bottom of the first, Reynolds homers to right to make it 2-0 Pirates. It is his nineteenth of the year. Back-to-back singles put two on with two out in the bottom of the third, and Gamel drives them both in with a double to left to double the lead to 4-0. A groundout ends the inning. With a runner at first and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Reynolds hits his second home run of the night to right field. The Pirates have turned this into a blowout at 6-0. Newman and Reynolds have combined to go 6-for-6 so far. That homer was the 3,000th home run at PNC Park.

On the other hand, Brubaker mows down Boston’s lineup, allowing just one hit through the first 6.1 innings. With a runner at first and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Chavis doubles down the left-field line to score Allen and make it 7-0. He moves to third on the throw home and scores on a Heineman single. It’s 8-0! At last, a runner is at second with two out in the top of the seventh after a throwing error, but a groundout means Pittsburgh gets out of it unscathed. The Sox finally show a little life in the eighth by loading the bases with one out. Now that it's too late, Pham’s infield single scores McGuire, finally breaks the shutout at 8-1, and forces a pitching change. On the first pitch, Dalbec scores on a Devers sacrifice fly to make it 8-2. A walk reloads the bases. Verdugo narrowly misses a grand slam before striking out and sealing Boston’s fate.