After a huge momentum-filled series with the Reds, the Pirates welcomed the hated Milwaukee Brewers to PNC Park for a 3-game series.
Tuesday, April 20: The Pirates were never in the opening game of the series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew-Crew jumped on Bucs’ starter Charlie Morton in the first inning, as Ryan Braun smashed an RBI-double in the first to get things started. Two sacrifices by Casey McGehee and Corey Hart pushed the lead to 3-0, which would be doubled the following inning as Rickie Weeks had an RBI-single, followed by a Braun walk and another McGehee sacrifice.
The onslaught continued in the 3rd inning as Alcides Escobar scored on Weeks’ triple, which was followed in the 5th by a Hart solo HR, stretching the Brewers’ lead to an embarrassing 8-0 score. Morton, in all, gave up 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, and he only made it through the 1st inning. “Reliever” Brian Burres didn’t fair much better, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits through 4 innings. The bullpen did a solid job in relief over the last 4 innings, but by that point, the game had already been decided.
Andrew McCutchen was the lone offensive force for the Pirates, going 3-4 with a trio of doubles, including a two-bagger in the 8th, in which he would eventually score on Lastings Milledge’s double. This was a rough start, both offensively and defensively, for the Pirates against their division foes, forcing them to win the next two outings in order to take the series.
Wednesday, April 21: The onslaught continued in the 2nd game of the series, as the Brewers jumped on top of the Pirates early, and never let their foot off the gas. To make matters worse, the Brewers’ pitching must have stolen the Buccos’ gas peddle as well, as the bats were basically non-existent for Pittsburgh.
Ryan Braun got things started in the 1st inning, blasting a solo homer off of starter Zach Duke. Prince Fielder sacrificed Carlos Gomez in the 4th inning, with the knockout punch following in the 5th. Rickie Weeks nailed a 2-run homerun, while Casey McGehee sacrificed Gomez home, giving the Brewers a commanding 5-0 lead. Milwaukee added 3 more runs over the course of the game, totaling 8 runs on 12 hits on 3 Buccos’ pitchers.
The Pirates’ bats were hideous on Wednesday, with Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit, Jeff Clement, and Duke contributing one hit a piece. Duke’s pitching numbers were weak as well, giving up 6 earned runs on 7 hits through 5 innings, inflating his season ERA to 4.12. A bright side for the Pirates was Evan Meek, who pitched 2 more scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to a miniscule 0.90. Aside from Meek, it was a dark day for Pirates baseball.
Thursday, April 22: The Pirates lost again to the Brewers on Thursday afternoon. They lost badly…really badly…record-setting badly. Milwaukee throttled the Buccos by a whopping score of 20-0 (no I’m not kidding), handing Pittsburgh its worst lost in franchise history. Ouch.
Starter Daniel McCutchen was dominated once again, just like every other one of his starts this season. Prince Fielder got the scoring rolling early in the 2nd with a solo HR, followed in the 3rd inning by Ryan Braun’s 3-run blast. Braun later added a 2-run double, pushing his season batting average to .417. The specifics are too painful to recall, but the final numbers looked something like this: 20 runs on 25 hits, including 4 homeruns, 6 doubles, and a triple. A total of 9 Brewers’ players tallied multi-hit games, with Jim Edmonds leading the way, going 4-6 with a HR and 3 RBI. Rickie Weeks and Braun each added 3 hits, while 6 others had a pair of knocks.
The Pirates did manage 8 hits, but unfortunately couldn’t drive any runs home, not that it would have made a difference. Not a single Bucco slated a multi-hit game, and the timely hitting that characterized their play in first 2 weeks of the season was non-existent.
The Pirates’ first series of 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers was by far the worst of the season…perhaps the worst in the last few decades of baseball. In the 3 game series, The Brewers outscored the Pirates, 36-1, out-hit them by nearly 30, got 3 quality performances from their starting pitchers, while severely inflating the ERA’s of Charlie Morton, Zach Duke, and Daniel McCutchen. What is even more deflating is the fact that this series against Milwaukee deteriorates everything the Bucs were able to do against the Reds this past weekend. I’m not sure which is more frustrating, the fact that the Pirates gave up 36 in 3 games, or if it’s that they have only managed 1 run of their own in a series. Both are pathetic, embarrassing, and needs to improve immediately if they want this season to have meaning beyond April.
The Pirates embark on a tough 10-game road trip, beginning tomorrow evening stretching through the end of the month. The Buccos start the trip with a 3-game series against the Houston Astros, who after a VERY rough start to the season, have caught their stride on both sides of the ball. The Buccos need to get back on track, and I mean fast…they need a productive road trip desperately.
And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!!!
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