Michael A. Taylor hammers another homer, as Pirates beat Astros to clinch series win

Ben Cherington wouldn’t say whether the Pittsburgh Pirates deciding not to acquire a center fielder at the trade deadline was a vote of confidence for Michael A. Taylor.

But a day after Taylor delivered a three-run home run in the ninth inning of a comeback win against the Houston Astros, the Pirates general manager didn’t hesitate to express faith in him.

Taylor rewarded it by blasting another homer, this one a two-run shot in the sixth inning that boosted the Pirates to a 6-2 win Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park, their third consecutive and fourth in six games.

“We believe in Michael,” Cherington said of Taylor, the 2021 AL Gold Glove winner. “It’s why we signed him. We know the defense is there. Obviously, there were stretches during this year where it’s been a struggle offensively and he’s been grinding. … We know what he’s capable of; this is a guy who hit 21 home runs last year with premium defense, so I think there’s every opportunity for him to make a big impact on this team in the next two months.”

Taylor’s homer was one of 11 hits by the Pirates (55-52), who took advantage of three Astros errors and got a solid start from lefty Bailey Falter to pull even with the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the NL Central and 1 ½ games back in wild card standings. They have a chance to sweep the three-game series Wednesday against the Astros (55-52).

Activated from the injured list, Falter (5-7) was very efficient in his first start since July 6. Falter threw 16 first-pitch strikes and 47 of his 66 pitches for strikes in allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits without a walk in 5⅓ innings.

“It was automatic,” Pirates catcher Joey Bart said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “He was pounding the zone and he executed, and he put pitches where he needed to. That’s what it comes down to, especially against really good hitters. Everything he threw today worked, so kudos to him for coming back and bringing it and putting the ball in the zone and putting us in great position to win.”

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, after Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a leadoff single to left, advanced to third on Connor Joe’s grounder to right and scored when Jared Triolo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

They extended it in the fourth thanks to an error. Bart singled to center, then scored for a 2-0 lead when Joe hit a two-out dribbler that pitcher Hunter Brown backhanded but made a low throw that skipped past first baseman Jon Singleton for a two-base error. Triolo doubled to the left field corner to score Joe for a 3-0 lead.

Yainer Diaz started the bottom of the fourth by driving Falter’s first-pitch curveball 351 feet to left field for his 10th home run to cut it to 3-1. Falter, however, responded with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out, then got Jose Altuve to ground into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

After Triolo worked an eight-pitch at-bat for a two-out walk in the sixth, Taylor crushed a 2-1 sinker at the top of the strike zone for a 403-foot home run to left field to make it 5-1. Taylor was batting .201 entering the series but is 3 for 7 with five RBIs in two games at Houston.

Taylor went 79 games between home runs, then hit towering shots in consecutive games. His three-run homer in the ninth lifted the Pirates to a 5-3 win over the Astros on Monday night.

“I’m so happy for Michael,” Joe said in an on-field interview with SportsNet Pittsburgh. “He’s a true pro and hasn’t let anything that’s happened this season change the attitude or the way he shows up to the field. He’s the same guy every day. It just shows how strong of a leader he is for us. He’s always consistent in the outfield. To see him barrel up a couple balls in big situations for us in a big series is awesome.”

When Yordan Alvarez singled in the sixth, the Pirates replaced Falter with righty Dennis Santana. Diaz singled to short, and Oneil Cruz’s errant throw allowed Alvarez to reach third. Alvarez scored when Jeremy Pena grounded into a forceout to cut it to 5-2, but Bryan Reynolds stretched out for a diving catch in left to rob Jake Meyers.

Andrew McCutchen drew a bases-loaded, full-count walk off Seth Martinez to drive in Bart to stretch the lead to 6-2 in the eighth. The Pirates got scoreless relief from Santana, Kyle Nicolas and Hunter Stratton to finish off the Astros.

The Pirates know reinforcements are on the way, as they acquired lefty reliever Jalen Beeks, outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the trade deadline.

“It’s huge,” said Joe, who went 3 for 4. “We’re playing really good baseball. We’re playing meaningful games going into August, which is awesome. It’s really fun. The vibes in the clubhouse are great. To see the front office commit to that and to the players, to help us out is huge. It gives us a lot more energy — even though we have a lot of energy. It’s really positive in all directions. We’re going to take it and we’re going to run with it and keep playing good baseball.”