Mickey Moniak collected four hits and five RBIs while coming up a single short of a cycle on his 28th birthday, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 10-4 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Moniak socked a three-run homer off Pirates starter Mitch Keller (4-2) to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning and help the Rockies snap a three-game skid.
The 372-foot blast was Moniak’s 12th of the season and highlighted a six-run fifth for Colorado. The frame marked a dramatic shift in the game after Keller retired the first 12 batters he faced.
One night after Pirates ace Paul Skenes took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, it appeared Keller had designs on something similar before TJ Rumfield, Troy Johnston and Kyle Karros singled to produce Colorado’s first run. Jake McCarthy drove in Johnston with a double, and Ezequiel Tovar knocked in Karros with a single to tie the 3-3.
Three batters later, Moniak put the Rockies ahead for good with his shot to right.
Moniak also doubled in the eighth off Pirates reliever Brandan Bidois and tripled in the ninth off Justin Lawrence to drive in the 10th run for Colorado.
Moniak matched his career high for RBIs set last Sept. 14 against the San Diego Padres.
Keller gave up six runs on seven hits, struck out three and walked one over 5 2/3 innings.
Antonio Senzatela (3-0) relieved Rockies starter Jose Quintana in the fifth and pitched three innings. He permitted just one run, on Ryan O’Hearn’s home run — his sixth of the season — in the bottom of the sixth that cut the Rockies’ lead to 6-4.
Rumfield pushed Colorado’s lead back to three runs when he hit his sixth homer of the season in the eighth off Bidois. Rumfield finished with three hits.
The game began 25 minutes after its scheduled start time due to inclement weather.
The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second when O’Hearn doubled and Quintana issued walks to Nick Gonzales and Brandon Lowe.
Two batters later, Henry Davis hit a ball to third and third baseman Karros threw to second, but Lowe reached the base safely as O’Hearn scored. Gonzales was then caught in a rundown between third and home but was awarded a run after Quintana was called for interference, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.
Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds added an RBI single in the third.
–Field Level Media
