The Pittsburgh Pirates had scored seven runs in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals, so Brandon Lowe was looking for an elevated pitch from Brad Lord to get off a good swing.

“I didn’t want to be the guy,” Lowe said, “who ended that rally.”

When the two-time All-Star second baseman crushed a full-count changeup 410 feet to right field for a three-run home run, it capped a 10-run inning that propelled the Pirates to a 16-5 win Monday night at PNC Park.

That it made Pirates history was a bonus for Lowe, who went 3 for 5 and recorded the franchise’s first back-to-back five-RBI performances since the statistic became official in 1920. It followed Sunday’s two-home run game that included a grand slam in the second inning of a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“Pretty cool. Record books are fun, but you’re trying to have good at-bats,” said Lowe, who reached on a throwing error by first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. in the first inning. “I was honestly pretty happy with that two-RBI single off my pine tar. Team at-bats, keep taking those and things are going to wind up pretty good in the end.”

After getting off to a scorching start by going 5 for 12 (.417) with a double, three homers and four RBIs in the opening weekend at the New York Mets, Lowe batted .152 (5 for 33) over his next nine games. While fighting the funk, Lowe concentrated on finding other ways to contribute. He had several strong defensive performances in the opening homestand and maintained a .300 on-base percentage by drawing seven walks against 10 strikeouts during that nine-game span.

“You’re going to have times when your bat goes cold; you still have to find ways to contribute,” Lowe said. “The main thing is, I could not have told you I was (5 for 33). I had no idea. I was preoccupied in a different aspect, playing good baseball and winning ballgames.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly noted how Lowe continued to have solid at-bats while scuffling. Lowe drew two walks in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Cubs. One of his outs involved solid contact, as Lowe had a 96.8-mph exit velocity on a line drive comebacker off Cubs pitcher Hoby Milner that bounced back to catcher Miguel Amaya for a 1-2-3 putout in the ninth inning before getting a two-out single on a soft roller in the 11th that led to a throwing error that allowed the winning run to score.

“Even through that short stretch where he wasn’t getting hits, he was still swinging the bat well and lining out and doing some really good things,” Kelly said. “He’s going to be a big part of our success this year.”

Lowe leads the Pirates with six home runs, is tied for the team lead with eight extra-base hits and ranks second with 14 RBIs while hitting .278/.400/.648 from the second spot in the batting order. While Lowe believes he is benefiting from hitting behind Oneil Cruz, who is hitting .355 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a 1.074 OPS, his presence also appears to be helping No. 3 hitter Bryan Reynolds.

“He’s a great hitter. Always has been,” Reynolds said of Lowe. “He’s got pop and drives in runs and he’s doing exactly what he’s always done. Good players play good, and that’s what he does.”