MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sal Frelick and Brice Turang homered off Paul Skenes, and the Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-0 on Tuesday night for their 11th consecutive victory.
Christian Yelich, Andrew Vaughn and Caleb Durbin also went deep as major league-leading Milwaukee improved to 27-5 in its last 32 games. Freddy Peralta (14-5) pitched six innings of three-hit ball in his second straight win.
The Brewers’ 11-game winning streak is their second of the season and the second-longest in franchise history.
Skenes (7-9) permitted four runs and six hits in four innings. The ace right-hander struck out four and walked two.
It was Skenes’ first loss since July 11. He allowed a total of four runs in his previous four starts.
Frelick hit a leadoff drive in the first for his ninth homer. Turang added a solo shot in the fourth for his 12th homer, lifting the Brewers to a 3-0 lead.
Yelich’s 23rd homer — a two-run drive off Yohan Ramírez in the fifth — made it 6-0, and Vaughn capped Milwaukee’s six-run sixth with a three-run shot. Durbin tacked on a two-run homer in the eighth against Pirates infielder Jared Triolo.
Coupled with the Cubs’ loss in Toronto, Milwaukee increased its NL Central lead to 7 1/2 games — the largest cushion in the majors.
Key moment
The last-place Pirates were down 2-0 when they put runners on first and second in the fourth. But Andrew McCutchen bounced into an inning-ending double play.
Key stat
The Brewers have a major league-high 23 homers in August. Six of those have come from Turang, doubling his season total.
Up next
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff (4-0, 2.29 ERA) starts for the Brewers in the series finale on Wednesday. Right-hander Mitch Keller (5-10, 3.86 ERA) get the ball for the Pirates.
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