Mitch Keller sharp, Andrew McCutchen drives in 5 as Pirates top Twins

When he took the mound Saturday in Minnesota, Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller had gone about seven weeks without winning a game.

Keller’s last victory was before the All-Star break, on June 28.

Andrew McCutchen had been riding a similar cold streak, having failed to hit a home run since June 30.

By the end of Saturday night at Target Field, both players had ended their funks, with Keller (10-8, 4.22 ERA) picking up the win and McCutchen blasting a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, propelling the Pirates to a 7-4 win over the Twins.

Keller pitched six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out 12 — one shy of his career-high — with one walk.

As for McCutchen, whose 298th career home run was his 11th of the season, he added a key two-run single in the sixth inning, finishing the night 2 for 5 with five RBIs.

On the strength of his five-RBI evening, McCutchen passed Dave Parker to take sole possession of ninth place among the all-time RBI leaders in Pirates history.

“It speaks volumes, and I don’t take it lightly,” McCutchen said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “It’s nice when I hear things like that. It lets me know what I’ve been doing. … It’s nice that I’m able to step up today and produce.”

Keller and McCutchen helped the Pirates overcome a start by Sonny Gray that was largely dominant before unraveling in the top of the sixth.

Gray pitched a perfect game through 5 1/3 innings, but the Pirates (55-68), shortly after managing their first baserunner of the evening, got to him in the sixth, scoring three runs off McCutchen’s hit and an RBI single from Ke’Bryan Hayes.

The Twins had taken a 1-0 lead in the first, when a freak bounce on a grounder by Max Kepler ricocheted off Keller’s foot and into right field, allowing Jorge Polanco, who had singled before stealing second base, to score.

In the fifth, Minnesota took a 2-0 lead when Michael Taylor singled home Christian Vazquez, who had hit a ground-rule double into the right-field corner.

An infield single by Liover Peguero kicked off the Pirates’ big sixth inning. After Jason Delay singled and Ji Hwan Bae walked, McCutchen drove in a pair with a single up the middle, followed by Hayes’ RBI single into left field.

Bae hit an RBI double off the left-field wall to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead in the seventh, but the Twins got one back shortly thereafter, after Colin Holderman took over in the bottom of the inning.

Keller escaping a jam in the sixth was critical in the Pirates’ victory.

After issuing a walk to Polanco and two singles to Carlos Correa and Kepler, which loaded the bases with no outs, Keller struck out Royce Lewis, Donovan Solano and Joey Gallo to quell the threat and preserve the Pirates’ lead.

“It’s extremely impressive,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He emptied the tank right there and got through (hitters No.) 5, 6 (and) 7 with punchouts by executing pitches the whole time. That’s not an easy group to keep off the barrel and off contact. (Keller) threw the ball outstanding today.”

In the top of the ninth, McCutchen crushed his three-run shot off Jordan Balazovic, handing his club a 7-3 lead.

“I just kept telling the guys, ‘I know I haven’t hit a homer in a while, but when I do get one, I’m gonna get it,’ ” McCutchen said. “ … I was able to put a good swing on it and finally put one out.”

David Bednar recorded one out to finish the eighth and re-entered the game in the ninth.

Bednar allowed a run in the ninth, making the score 7-4, but settled down to shut the door on the Twins, collecting his 26th save of the year in the win.