Pirates build big lead, survive late Rockies rally

Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales homered and finished with two hits each, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 in Denver on Sunday.

Jake Mangum had three hits and Spencer Horwitz contributed two for Pittsburgh, which built an 8-1 lead before surviving a late Colorado surge.

Pirates starter Jared Jones left the game after he was struck on the right elbow by a comebacker that ended the third inning. Jones, who allowed one run on one hit, was replaced by Yohan Ramirez (5-2) to start the fourth. Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out three to earn the win.

The Pirates announced that initial images of Jones were negative and he will be re-examined in Pittsburgh on Monday.

TJ Rumfield homered and Jake McCarthy had two hits for the Rockies.

Colorado successfully used two challenges to take the lead in the second inning. Tyler Freeman reached on a leadoff single after a review overturned the original out call, and Cole Carrigg successfully requested an ABS challenge on a third strike and eventually drew a walk.

Jones walked Edouard Julien to load the bases with no outs and Freeman scored on Sterlin Thompson's fielder's choice to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates responded in the fourth. Reynolds hit a leadoff double, and one out later, Gonzales homered to left, his third of the season.

Mangum led off the fifth with a single and scored on Jared Triolo's double to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 3-1.

Gonzales and Endy Rodriguez singled with one out to chase Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the sixth. Tyler Callihan greeted reliever Juan Mejia with an RBI single and Mangum delivered a run-scoring double to make it 5-1.

Lorenzen (2-9) allowed four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Pirates broke it open in the seventh against Mejia. Horwitz and Brandon Lowe led off with singles and Reynolds homered into the second deck in right field, his 11th of the season.

Rumfield hit his 12th home run after two singles to start the eighth, and Kyle Karros added an RBI double in the ninth. He later scored on a throwing error, but Willi Castro hit into a double play to end the game.

--Field Level Media