After losing 6 straight games to NL Central opponents, the LAST team the Buccos wanted to see were the Milwaukee Brewers. After all, the Brew-Crew had dominated the 3-game series against the Pirates a week ago, outscoring the Bucs by over 30 runs in their sweep at PNC Park.
Monday, April 26: This series began the way last week’s left off, with the Brewers’ bats destroying the Pirates’ pitching on their way to another embarrassing blowout. Milwaukee spread the hurt around throughout the game, scoring 2 runs in the 2nd inning, 5 runs in the third, and an obnoxious 9 runs in the 8th on their way to a 17-3 destruction of Pittsburgh. Gregg Zaun was the hitting star of the day for the Brewers, going 4-4 with 5 RBI. Prince Fielder added 3 hits, while Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez added 2 hits a-piece.
Zach Duke’s ERA continued to inflate to 6.11 after giving up 8 runs on 9 hits in only 4 innings. The bullpen didn’t help matters any, giving up 9 more runs, all in the 8th. Andrew McCutchen and Andy LaRoche two hits each, but the Pirates manufactured basically no meaningful offense, falling to the Brewers for a fourth straight time this season.
Tuesday, April 27: Jeff Karstens pitched a much-needed solid outing and Ryan Doumit blasted a grand slam in the top of the 9th, snapping the Pirates’ 7 game losing streak, and winning for the first time in Miller Park in over 3 years. Doumit was 3-5 with 4 RBI in the game, while Karstens gave up only 2 runs on 6 hits through 6.2 innings to an offense that has lit up the Buccos’ pitching for the past 5 seasons.
Andy LaRoche had 4 hits and Jeff Clement had a 3-hit performance, as the Pirates knocked off the Brewers, 7-3. Ronny Cedeno and Ryan Doumit delivered the knockout punches against the all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman in the 9th inning. With momentum on their side, the Pirates walked off the field on Tuesday with a chance to take a series against the Brewers in Milwaukee for the first time in 4 years.
Wednesday, April 28: The Pirates finally earned the respect of the Brewers by defeating them in 14 innings, taking the game and the series in Milwaukee.
Andrew McCutchen was 4-7 with 2 HR and 2 RBI, while Andy LaRoche and Ryan Doumit also added a homerun each. Doumit’s HR was again off of Hoffman, tying the game in 9th inning and forcing the game into extra frames.
Paul Maholm pitched a decent game, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings of work. The bullpen, unlike on Monday, stepped in and did a terrific job, specifically D.J. Carrasco, who earned the win by pitching 3 innings of shutout baseball, including a 1-2-3 bottom of the 14th to close out the game.
The difference between Monday and Wednesday in this series was night and day. Following this series, the Pirates have some confidence, they’ve regained some pride, and they head into a 4-game series against a Dodgers team that they won the series against in the season opener. The Pirates have somewhat salvaged a once-dismal road trip. They currently stand at 2-4 on the trip, but with hopes of leaving Los Angeles with at least a split or a victory in the series.
Current Record: 9-12
And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!
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