PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — The Pittsburgh Pirates turned an early five-run rally into a 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 17, 2026, at PNC Park, closing their season series against the National League Central leaders with a win. Pittsburgh finished the afternoon with seven hits, two fewer than Milwaukee, but made the most of its opportunities by bunching hits, walks and hit batters in the decisive middle innings. The Brewers scored four times and collected nine hits, including a late home run that briefly made the game tense, but they could not complete the comeback.

Pittsburgh improved to 78-78. Milwaukee fell to 96-60. Khristian Curtis earned the win in relief, improving to 2-0. Kyle Harrison took the loss and dropped to 10-5 for Milwaukee. Mason Montgomery recorded the save, his 14th of the season. The game drew 10,818 at PNC Park and lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes.

Milwaukee opened the scoring early. Gary Sánchez singled, Joey Ortiz reached on a forceout, and Sal Frelick singled to put runners on. David Hamilton then grounded a single into left field that brought home Ortiz for the first run. The Brewers had chances to add more, but Pittsburgh starter and relievers worked around traffic for much of the afternoon.

The Pirates answered in a hurry. In the bottom of the second, Ronny Simon walked, Jared Triolo singled, and Henry Davis reached on catcher’s interference by Bo Naylor, loading the bases. Konnor Griffin followed with a two-run double to left field that scored Simon and Triolo. Oneil Cruz then lined a single to left that plated Davis and Griffin, giving Pittsburgh a four-run edge. Bryan Reynolds was hit by a pitch, Rafael Flores Jr. walked, and Brandon Lowe was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in another run. By the time the inning ended, Pittsburgh had scored five times and had seized control.

That rally proved to be the difference. Milwaukee chipped away in the sixth when Ortiz walked, Frelick singled, and Naylor reached on a forceout that allowed Ortiz to score after a throwing error by shortstop Konnor Griffin. The run cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 5-2. The Brewers then made it a one-run game in the eighth. Garrett Mitchell doubled to center, moved to third on Ortiz’s flyout, and scored on Frelick’s sacrifice fly. Naylor followed with a home run to right field, a drive upheld after an umpire review, pulling Milwaukee within 5-4.

Pittsburgh responded immediately in the bottom of the eighth. Ronny Simon reached on a soft bunt single to third, and Davis launched a two-run homer to left field that restored a three-run cushion. It was Davis’s 10th home run of the season and gave the Pirates breathing room heading to the ninth. Griffin walked later in the inning, but Pittsburgh could not add more. The two-run swing was crucial because it prevented Milwaukee from carrying momentum into its final at-bats.

Montgomery handled the ninth for Pittsburgh. He allowed no hits and no earned runs over 1 1/3 innings, walked two and struck out two. Milwaukee put a runner on when Andrew Vaughn walked, but a strikeout and a groundout ended the game. The save was Montgomery’s 14th, and it closed out a bullpen effort that kept Milwaukee from mounting a final rally.

Curtis was credited with the win after pitching 3 1/3 innings in relief. He allowed one hit and one earned run, walked three and struck out three. His outing bridged the middle innings after Pittsburgh’s early offensive burst. Wilber Dotel pitched two innings and allowed three hits and one earned run with a walk and two strikeouts. Camilo Doval worked a scoreless inning with one hit and two strikeouts. Gregory Soto retired two batters and allowed one hit. Montgomery finished it.

Milwaukee’s bullpen had some strong moments. Garrett Stallings pitched three innings and allowed one hit, no earned runs, one walk and struck out six. Chad Patrick threw 1 1/3 hitless innings with one walk and two strikeouts. JoJo Romero worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout. But the Brewers could not overcome Pittsburgh’s five-run outburst or the two-run homer by Davis in the eighth.

Naylor had one of Milwaukee’s biggest offensive moments, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. His eighth-inning homer briefly made it a one-run game and quieted the home crowd. Frelick added a sacrifice fly and a single, while Hamilton delivered an RBI single. Mitchell doubled and scored, and Ortiz reached base multiple times and scored. Still, Milwaukee stranded opportunities and finished with four runs despite outhitting Pittsburgh.

Davis went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs for Pittsburgh. His homer in the eighth was the most important hit of the late innings. Simon scored twice and reached on a walk and a bunt single. Triolo singled and scored during the five-run rally. Griffin doubled in two runs and walked, while Cruz’s two-run single was part of the decisive second inning. Lowe drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Pittsburgh’s win gave the Pirates the season series against Milwaukee. The Brewers entered the day having already clinched another division title, while Pittsburgh’s postseason hopes had faded. Even so, the Pirates played with urgency and found a way to beat one of the league’s best teams. The victory moved Pittsburgh back to .500 and gave the club a positive result before opening a series against Kansas City. Milwaukee headed to Baltimore for its next series.

The afternoon was played in front of a modest crowd at PNC Park, but the Pirates gave the fans a few memorable swings. The five-run rally featured a bases-loaded sequence that combined a double, a single, a walk and a hit batter. Davis’s homer then answered Naylor’s blast in the top of the eighth. In a game that featured 16 combined hits, Pittsburgh’s ability to capitalize with runners in scoring position made the difference.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 7, Pittsburgh 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Milwaukee a 60.8 percent probability to win. Milwaukee was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 11 surpassed the over/under line of 8.5.