Mark Mathias has 4-hit game as Pirates pound 16 hits in blowout win over Rockies

After going extra innings in back-to-back games at St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed their biggest blowout of the season with open arms and free-swinging bats.

They were aggressive in attacking Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, scoring seven runs in the first two innings, and continued to pour it on to protect their lead as it reached double digits.

Mark Mathias recorded his first career four-hit game and was one of five Pirates with multiple hits as they finished with 16 knocks in a 14-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night at Coors Field.

“You think this is fun as you’re scoring all those runs but then you also think, ‘We’re in Colorado, in this ballpark,’” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “Our bullpen was a little bit short. It was pretty much we needed to keep going — and to our credit, our guys kept going, which was really important. There’s not a lead that’s really safe in this ballpark.”

It marked the second time this season the Pirates (10-6) scored at least 13 runs in a game this season, as they had 19 hits in a 13-9 win over the Chicago White Sox in the home opener on April 7 at PNC Park. The Rockies (5-12) suffered their sixth consecutive loss after getting swept in Seattle and after losing two of three to St. Louis.

Mathias entered the game batting .067 in his first week with the Pirates since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis after Oneil Cruz fractured his left ankle. Mathias went 4 for 5 with two runs scored, an RBI and made a nice stop to turn a double play in the seventh inning.

“Shelty pulled me into the office a couple days ago, sat me down and told me, ‘Don’t chase hits, man. Just have quality at-bats. Focus on that little white thing,’” Mathias said. “I kind of forgot about that little white thing. I think it’s kind of important to focus on that little white thing. That helped me out.”

Left-hander Rich Hill (1-2) delivered the Pirates’ seventh consecutive quality start, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts on 105 pitches over six innings to earn his first win. Freeland (2-1), who entered with a 0.96 ERA, gave up nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and one walk in 2⅔ innings, including a six-run second inning.

“Our plan today with the starter was to jump on him,” said Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. “His percentages were showing that he throws a lot of strikes, likes to get ahead and then from that, he likes to expand out of the zone, so we wanted to attack right away.”

Andrew McCutchen got the Pirates started with a solo shot off the top of the left field fence with two outs in the first inning, driving Freeland’s 1-2 curve 383 feet for his second home run in three days and third overall.

Hill sandwiched walks of Jurickson Profar and C.J. Cron around a Kris Bryant double, loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. But Elias Diaz hit a bouncer to third and Hayes stepped on the bag and threw across the diamond for a double play to end the threat.

The Pirates pounded Freeland for six runs on four hits, a walk and a sacrifice bunt while batting through the order in the second. Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk, raced from first to third on third baseman Elehuris Montero’s error on a Rodolfo Castro grounder and scored on a single by Mathias.

The next five runs came in rapid-fire fashion: Castro scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Ji Hwan Bae. Austin Hedges singled to left to drive in Mathias. Hayes singled on a liner to center to drive in Bae. Bryan Reynolds singled to left to drive in Hedges.

“The effort throughout the entire game and the continuing pursuit of putting runs on the board, I think speaks to this team what everyone is seeing throughout the beginning part of this season,” Hill said. “It’s something we’re bringing on a consistent basis, and it’s great to see.”

The Pirates continued to pile on with two runs in the third. Castro hit safely for the seventh consecutive game with a leadoff double, advanced to second on a Mathias single and scored on Bae’s forceout. Hayes singled through the middle to drive in Bae for a 9-0 lead.

Rockies star Kris Bryant (3 for 4) sent Hill’s 2-2 cutter 434 feet to left field for a solo home run to make it 9-1 in the third. It was Bryant’s second homer of the season but his first at Coors Field for the Rockies after hitting all five on the road last season.

Hayes hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Mathias in the fifth for his third RBI and a 10-1 lead. Reynolds followed with a single to left to drive in Bae to make it a double-digit advantage. Carlos Santana hit a two-run single to shallow center to make it 13-1.

The Rockies added two more runs in the eighth, when Mike Moustakas doubled off Wil Crowe to left to score Bryant and Harold Castro hit a sacrifice fly off Jose Hernandez to score Blackmon to make it 13-3.

In the ninth, the Rockies put infielder Alan Trejo on the mound and Jack Suwinski smashed a 54.7-mph slider 461 feet to the second deck in right field for his second homer and a 14-3 lead.

“Overall offensively, it was about as good of a baseball game as you could play,” Shelton said. “We did not give away any at-bats. That says something to the growth of our team and how we’re getting better.”