Pitching Falls Apart, Buccos Swept By Brewers

By Zane Heiple

Photo Credit: AP

Well Buccos’ fans, let’s face it; the Pirates stink when they visit the city of Milwaukee.  Today’s series’ finale was no different.  I bet some of you, like me, had a bit of hope coming into today.  Kevin Correia was on the mound, Pittsburgh has been great on the road so far, and the Florida Marlins have been the only team to sweep the Buccos this year.  Once again, hope clouded our own reality.

After a quick 1-2-3 top of the first, the Brewers wasted little jumping on the Pirates’ throats.  Two singles allowed Ryan Braun to hit a three-run homer to right field.  This was followed up by a Casey McGee solo shot two batters later to make it 4-0.  The second inning saw Braun give us more of a reason to hate him (like we needed more) when he hit a two-out RBI triple.

The Brew Crew added another run in the third on a Jonathan Lucroy double that scored McGee from third.  These six runs spelled the end of Correia’s day after four innings.  He gave up six runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out one.  This was by far his worst start of the season as many of his pitches were left up over the plate and drilled into play.

However, just when you think Pittsburgh is out of a game, the offense decided to make an appearance in the fifth inning.  Neil Walker led off the inning with a solo homerun to centerfield.  The next four runs all came with two outs.  Ronny Cedeno doubled home Chris Snyder.  This was followed by a Steve Pearce pinch-hit double that cut Milwaukee’s lead to two.  Andrew McCutchen hit his first triple of the year and then was brought home by a Jose Tabata single to make it a 6-5 Brewers’ lead after 4 ½ innings.

After coming back from a six-run deficit to make it a one-run game, it made sense for Clint Hurdle to bring in a relief pitcher that has been performing well lately.  That’s why his decision to bring in the struggling Chris Resop made me scratch my head.  Chris was able to get two of the first three batters out, but the fourth batter he faced made him pay for a pitch left over the heart of the plate.  With a runner on, Lucroy struck again, this time with a  two-run homerun to give Milwaukee an 8-5 lead.

The Brew Crew added a run in the seventh to give themselves a four-run lead.  The Buccos gave a bit of a fight in the ninth as Pedro Alvarez scored on a Cedeno single.  With the bases loaded, Jose Tabata came to the plate with one out and the opportunity to keep hope alive.  I think we all knew what was going to happen, as Tabata grounded into the game-ending double play, allowing Milwaukee to secure the three-game sweep.

Another rough one for the Pirates, on a day when the offense scored six runs on ten hits, the overall pitching couldn’t keep the Brewers’ lineup in check.  Pittsburgh will visit the cheese state six more times this year and there is a good chance they will lose those games, unless a voodoo doctor comes in and lifts whatever curse has been placed on our beloved Buccos.

Pittsburgh will fly to our nation’s capital for a short two-game set with the Washington Nationals, starting tomorrow.  Hopefully they leave those bad Milwaukee vibes in Wisconsin and are to break out their current funk.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.

Record Vs. Brewers: 0-5

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 9-9

Record On The Road: 11-11

Overall Record: 18-22

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!