Brewers 3, Pirates 2: Jonathan Lucroy drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Milwaukee held on to beat visiting Pittsburgh for its eighth straight victory.

Ryan Braun, who started the rally in the eighth with a one-out single, joined Lucroy as the only Brewers with two hits. Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo, who had not allowed an earned run in 12 2/3 innings coming into the game, went six innings and allowed two runs before departing with the score tied while three relievers – including Jim Henderson (1-0) – bridged the gap to Francisco Rodriguez, who pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn his fourth save.

Travis Snider and Andrew McCutchen had two hits apiece for the Pirates while Snider and leadoff hitter Starling Marte drove in the two runs. Edinson Volquez worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and four hits before Mark Melancon (0-1) gave up the go-ahead run.

The Pirates tied the score with two runs in the third on an RBI groundout by Marte and Snider’s run-scoring single to right. No runs were scored again until Braun singled with one out in the eighth, Alexei Ramirez followed with a base hit and Lucroy drove Braun home with a single to right.

Carlos Gomez led off the game with a home run for the second time this season before Volquez induced four straight groundouts. However, a fifth resulted in a fielding error by Pedro Alvarez at third and that led to a run when Khris Davis scored on a wild pitch with two out to give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Brewers (9-2) are off to their best start since going 13-0 to begin the 1987 season. … Gallardo came into the game with an 11-4 record with a 2.59 ERA in 20 career games against the Pirates, which includes 19 starts. … The Pirates had the go-ahead run at third with one out in the eighth and Snider at first when McCutchen popped out to Lucroy behind the plate. Snider tagged and tried to take second base and Lucroy threw down as Marte broke from third, but Brewers SS Jean Segura threw Marte out at the plate to end the inning.