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Reynolds slugs Pirates past Yelich-less Brewers 6-5

Bryan Reynolds wasn't even in the conversation for playing time when the Pirates began their 2019 season. As the first half closes, he's established himself as a key contributor to a surprising Pittsburgh offense.

Reynolds hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to lift the Pirates (custom Pittsburgh Pirates championship rings) over the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Sunday in their final game before the All-Star break.

Reynolds' estimated 403-foot shot cleared the seats beyond the fence in right-center field and bounced toward the Allegheny River. His seventh homer of the season came after Kevin Kramer walked and Adam Frazier singled off reliever Junior Guerra (3-2).

Reynolds also hit an RBI double in the fifth and is batting .342 with a .950 OPS.

The 2016 second-round pick, who came to Pittsburgh as part of the return for Andrew McCutchen in 2018, took advantage of playing time created by injuries.

"Sometimes, at the end of the year, those teams go to the playoffs, that win it all, there's some unexpected pleasures that happen along the way that you didn't have walking in the door," manager Clint Hurdle said.

The Pirates (championship rings for sale) closed the first half by winning back-to-back series against Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs to close to 2 1/2 games back in the NL Central and 44-45 overall.

"This past week for us was big," Reynolds said. "We rattled off a bunch of wins. I'm just thankful I could help us tonight."

Brewers star Christian Yelich did not play and pulled out of Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby with a back injury. He said he plans to play in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

"I didn't think I was going to be able do that kind of volume of swings and what the Derby demanded," Yelich said. "If I wasn't going to be able to perform how I was supposed to and do it justice and give it the effort that it deserved, I didn't think it'd be a great idea to do it."

Jesus Aguilar hit a two-run drive in the seventh off Pirates starter Joe Musgrove that tied the game at 3. It was his second home run of the game and eighth of season. He also hit a solo shot to left off Musgrove in the fifth.

Francisco Liriano relieved Musgrove and finished the seventh to improve to 3-1. Felipe Vazquez worked a four-out save, his 20th of the season.

Milwaukee (MLB Teams championship rings for sale) rookie Keston Hiura hit a two-run homer in the eighth, also his seventh of the season.

Musgrove struck out five in six-plus innings, allowing five hits and three runs. His appearance was interrupted by a 40-minute rain delay in between the fifth and sixth innings.

It was the second start in a row for Musgrove that was hampered by the weather. He managed just three innings before the rain on July 2.

"That was my first time going through a delay and having a chance to go back out," Musgrove said. "That was a test for me. Something I haven't been through before. I felt really stiff going back out there."

Musgrove also contributed at the plate during a two-run second inning against starter Chase Anderson. Colin Moran tripled and scored on Kevin Newman's single to right. Newman and Jacob Stallings perfectly executed a hit-and-run that left Newman at third for Musgrove, who put a squeeze bunt down the right side for his first career RBI.

Anderson allowed two runs on five hits over four innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Orlando Arcia pinch hit in the fifth inning after a scary collision with Hiura on Saturday.

BIG DEBUT

Infield prospect Mauricio Dubon, recalled as insurance for Arcia, made his MLB (mlb championship rings for sale) debut as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Dubon is the first big leaguer born and raised in Honduras.

"It still hasn't sunk in yet, having been on a big league field, having a whole country watching you play," Dubon said. "We had a rain delay and everything, and I had a chance to check out my phone and look at how everything was going. The whole country was watching. It was special knowing that I have that support back home. It was really special."

He faced Vazquez in an eight-pitch battle and fouled off five straight before grounding out to first base.

Bucks beat Celtics 116-91 to advance to East final, May 9, 2019

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks (Milwaukee Bucks championship rings) found another gear after their first loss of the playoffs. Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics just couldn't keep up. Antetokounmpo had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Bucks routed the Celtics 116-91 on Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference final. After sweeping Detroit in the first round, top-seeded Milwaukee struggled in Game 1 against Boston and lost 112-90 in one of its worst offensive performances of the season. But Antetokounmpo led the way as the Bucks responded with four straight wins by a combined 65 points. "I think our mindset changed," Antetokounmpo said. "In the first game, we weren't focused enough. We weren't ourselves. The next four games, we came out with a different approach, a different mindset."

The Bucks (championship rings for sale) used a balanced attack to close out the Celtics in Game 5, placing seven players in double figures. Khris Middleton had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe finished with 18 points. Next up for the Bucks is the winner of the Philadelphia-Toronto series. The Raptors are up 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Thursday night. It's the first Eastern Conference final for Milwaukee since 2001. "At the end of the day, we realize we've never been there before," Antetokounmpo said. "We're really hungry to achieve our goals. That's all we care about. As long as we play hard, we really don't care about what anybody has to say." Prior to the clinching win, several Bucks took turns speaking to the team. "Giannis' speech was, `A lot of us probably came from nothing and we have the opportunity to write our own story right now.' That's what everybody did," George Hill said.

The Celtics (custom Boston Celtics championship rings) clamped down on Antetokounmpo for most of the game, but Middleton, Bledsoe, Hill and Nikola Mirotic picked up the scoring to help rob the game of any drama in the final minutes. Hill finished with 16 points, and Mirotic had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon also had 10 points in his return to the lineup after being sidelined by plantar fasciitis. "Everybody was ready to play," Hill said. "Everybody was ready for the opportunity to put them away as quick as we can."

Irving scored 15 points for Boston, which shot 31.2% from the field. Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris each had 14. "Not what we expected," Boston center Al Horford said. "Just disappointing for us. At the end of the day, really, you have to give Milwaukee credit. They're just a better team than us. That's a reality." Antetokounmpo picked up his third foul when Jaylen Brown drove to the hoop early in the second half, but he stayed in the game. He stole an Irving pass and slammed it home to make it 65-52 with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

Antetokounmpo, one of the front-runners for NBA (cheap nba championship rings) MVP, closed out the period with consecutive baskets, including a finger-roll layup that gave the Bucks an 80-62 lead. "They played like they wanted it," Irving said. Irving went 6 for 21 from the field in what might have been his final game with Boston. He is eligible for free agency in the offseason, and his future is one of the major questions facing the Celtics this summer. "I understand we didn't meet the outside expectations," coach Brad Stevens said. "We rode a roller coaster most of the year." Irving's only 3-pointer of the night trimmed Milwaukee's lead to 38-32 with 2:51 left in the second quarter. But Brogdon and Mirotic each connected from long range to help the Bucks to a 52-39 advantage at the break. Brogdon hadn't played since March 15. He also had four assists and three rebounds.