PITTSBURGH — After a bumpy start to his outing, Adam Oller looked to have things under control Tuesday evening. But that all changed when Andrew McCutchen stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Needing just two outs to complete his fifth frame of the evening, Oller went right after the 16-year vet, challenging him with an inside fastball with hopes to generate a double-play ball that would help him escape a jam. But McCutchen knew better, sending the offering 403 feet to left field for a three-run homer.

McCutchen’s blast busted a once close game wide open, giving the Pirates a five-run advantage and paving the way to an eventual 6-4 victory over the Marlins at PNC Park. The homer marked No. 20 on the season for McCutchen, the 10th time he has reached such a mark during his long journey in the big leagues.

In a year filled with milestones’ McCutchen’s latest puts him among the most elite companies in Pirates’ history. He is just the franchise’s second player aged 37 or older to tally 20 or more homers in a season, joining Willie Stargell who did so twice (1978 and 1979).

On the mound

Playing in their 13th straight game with no off day, the Pirates chose to go with a bullpen game Tuesday to ensure the members of their starting rotation can continue to pitch on five days’ rest. Carmen Mlodzinski started, retiring each of the six batters he faced. Mlodzinski then turned the ball over to left-hander Joey Wentz, the game’s winning pitcher, who surrendered a run over the next 2 2/3 innings.

Kyle Nicolas replaced Wentz with one out remaining in the top of the fifth. The right-hander allowed the one of the two runners he inherited to score, and then surrendered two more runs the following frame before Ryan Borucki was called upon to get the final out in the top of the sixth. David Bednar took over in the seventh, throwing a 1-2-3 inning that was concluded with a strikeout. Dennis Santana followed with a scoreless eighth. Aroldis Chapman allowed one run in the ninth but still managed to close out the victory, earning his eighth save of the season.

At the plate

Bryan Reynolds also had a notably productive game at the plate, finishing 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. His RBI came on a single to center field that plated Jared Triolo the at-bat prior to McCutchen’s homer in the bottom of the fifth. Reynolds has now driven in a run in four straight games, and five of his last six.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa was the other Pirate to finish with a multi-hit game Tuesday, going 2 for 4. He and Reynolds scored the Pirates’ first two runs of the game in the first inning. The Pirates ended the evening with eight hits, one less than Miami.

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