Pirates Beat Brewers In Wild One At Miller Park

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Scott Boehm/Getty Images

The Pirates entered tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers having lost 36 of their last 39 games at Miller Park, including a most-recent 12-game losing streak.

While the Brewers had already clinched the N.L. Central division title, they still had much to play for this series as they’re battling for home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.  As for the Pirates, they were looking to finish up a rollercoaster season on a positive note.

It was a wild one tonight in Milwaukee, as the two teams combined for 17 runs on 25 hits, using 10 pitchers in a game that lasted over four hours.

Typically, when the Brewers would score a lot of runs against the Pirates, it has been in blowout fashion.  Tonight, on the other hand, the Bucs out-hit the Brew-Crew, beating them in their home ballpark by a final score of 9-8.

On a night dominated by offense, Alex Presley led the charge for the Bucs, going 3-5 with 3 RBI’s, including a solo homerun to lead off the game.  Pedro Alvarez added two hits and had 3 RBI’s of his own, while Xavier Paul and Chase d’Arnaud also had multi-hit games.

The pitching certainly wasn’t a bright spot for either team tonight.  For Charlie Morton, he battled for every out in his five innings of work.  He ended up being charged for five runs on eight hits, but he had the lead when he left the ballgame. 

Jason Grilli got out of a bases-loaded and one-out jam in the eighth inning to set the table for Joel Hanrahan, who closed out the game for his 40^th save of the season.

It was a nice victory to end the losing streak at Miller Park.  But the pitching continues to be worrisome.  Morton struggled tonight with his control, which is of serious concern.  The offense showed up tonight, but a pitching staff can’t rely on 9 runs of support consistently from an offense.

Andrew McCutchen was scratched from tonight’s game after he was hit by a baseball during batting practice.  Xavier Paul took his place in the lineup, while Alex Presley played centerfield.

The Pirates will look to clinch a series victory tomorrow night at Miller Park.  Ross Ohlendorf will try to deliver an encouraging performance in his final start of the season. 

Record Vs. Brewers: 3-10

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 39-39

Record On The Road: 36-43

Overall Record: 72-88

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!