MLB: Pittsburgh 9, Milwaukee 8

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Alex Presley went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI Monday and the Pittsburgh Pirates outslugged Milwaukee 9-8.

Pedro Alvarez drove in three runs with a pair of hits for the Pirates, who took the opener of a season-ending, three-game series against the National League Central-champion Brewers.

Daniel McCutchen (5-3), the fifth of seven Pirates pitchers, earned the victory with 1 1/3 frames of scoreless relief.

Yuniesky Betancourt drove in four runs with a pair of doubles and a bases-loaded walk for Milwaukee.

Milwaukee starter Shawn Marcum was lit up for seven runs on 10 hits in a 4 2/3-inning start while Takashi Saito (4-2) was tagged with the loss.