William Contreras sparked a power surge with a three-run homer in the third inning as the host Milwaukee Brewers pummeled the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-2 on Wednesday afternoon.

After Connor Joe put Pittsburgh up 1-0 with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third, Milwaukee wasted little time crafting a response.

Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick opened the home half of the frame with singles. Contreras then cleared the right field wall for his sixth home run of the season.

Joey Ortiz proceeded to draw a one-out walk ahead of a two-run shot from Gary Sanchez that made it 5-1.

Frelick added a solo shot in the fourth and Ortiz had one of his own in the fifth as the Brewers’ lead grew to 7-1, and Milwaukee cruised from there to take the rubber match of the three-game series.

That ended up being more than enough run support for Brewers starter Robert Gasser (2-0), who allowed one run on six hits in five innings. Gasser walked one and struck out two.

But the Brewers’ offense wasn’t done.

Owen Miller singled to lead off the sixth and Chourio followed with his fifth homer of 2024, chasing Pirates starter Martin Perez (1-3).

Perez failed to earn his first win since April 4 — his second outing of the year — after being charged with nine runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings. He issued one walk and fanned four.

Reliever Luis L. Ortiz couldn’t stop the bleeding, though, and Milwaukee took a 10-1 lead on Contreras’ RBI triple.

Contreras saw his hitting streak reach nine games thanks to a 3-for-5 day that included four RBIs and one run. He was a double shy of the cycle. Frelick also had three hits as the Brewers won for the fifth time in seven games.

Andrew McCutchen launched a solo home run in the seventh and finished with three hits for Pittsburgh, which is 2-6 over its past eight games.

–Field Level Media