Starling Marte homered among his four hits and came within a triple of the cycle, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Monday night.
Aramis Ramirez went deep and Jody Mercer had four hits for the Pirates, who reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to two. A win Tuesday and a San Francisco loss would clinch at least a wild card for the third straight season.
Marte homered in Pittsburgh's two-run first, singled in the fourth and doubled off the top of the wall in the sixth. He led off the ninth with a single to center.
Mercer hit doubles in the second and fourth innings to drive in Francisco Cervelli, who had three hits, as the Pirates built a 5-0 lead on Jon Gray (0-2).