Pirates Drop Rubber Match Behind Early Home Run, Late Misplays (39-44)

7/2/23- By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

The Pirates have been in a better place lately but struggled against their division foe as they dropped the final game of the homestand 6-3.

Facing Colin Rea, the Pirates appeared to be very aggressive at the plate, swinging early and often. Nick Gonzales took a first pitch cut-fastball yard with one on and no outs in the 2nd inning to get the scoring started.

THAT BALL WAS GONZO 💣 pic.twitter.com/fYqObCyQVL

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 2, 2023

Unfortunately, the offense stagnated after that as Rea set down the next eight Pirates batters in a row, keeping them off the bases and his pitch count low as he lasted 6.2 innings of 5 hit, 2 run ball, allowing just 1 walk while striking out 3. 

Rich Hill was cruising early but ran into trouble in the third inning. Following a groundout, he hit Raimel Tapia with a pitch, walked Andruw Monasterio on 5 pitches and, after falling behind to William Contreras, served up an inside fastball that Contreras sent into the left field bleachers to give the team a 3-2 lead. This has been an often occurrence where Hill seems to get upset with himself over a mistake – either made by himself or a teammate – and isn’t able to buckle down and execute. That inning was the only issue that Hill faced on the day, posting 5 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and striking out 8.

Milwaukee added to their lead in the 8th inning as Carmen Mlodzinski got two quick outs before a walk and single put men on the corners and Shelton opted to bring in lefty Ryan Borucki to face switch-hitting rookie Blake Perkins. Perkins grounded the ball back to Borucki, who rushed the play and errantly threw the ball away, allowing two runners to score.

Pittsburgh battled back in the bottom of the inning with Carlos Santana hitting a 2-out single to deep right before Josh Palacios doubled to center, driving in the run and cutting the deficit to two. Borucki stayed in the game in the 9th and promptly allowed a single, sacrifice bunt and RBI double to get the run back for the Brew Crew, ultimately sealing the final score.

Having been able to rest their top bullpen arms, the Brewers were able to use Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero and Devin Williams to finish off the game and earn a series victory for the Brewers, who moved to 45-39 on the season in a tie for NL Central lead with the Cincinnati Reds.

News & Notes

• The Brewers entered the day last in MLB v. LHP in batting average (.215), slugging (.345), OPS (.642) and 28th in OBP (.297). 
• Andrew McCutchen saw his on-base streak end at 20 games as he went 0-4 on the day.
• Despite his strikeout numbers, Hill struggled with control as only 62 of his 102 pitches landed for strikes.
• Angel Perdomo pitched 1.2 innings, retiring the first 5 batters he faced before allowing a single in the 7th. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 4 straight games, sporting a 2.77 ERA. Mlodzinski also hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 4 outings either and has a 2.89 ERA.
• Dauri Moreta, who had 9 runs over his last 5 appearances, managed to get 2 outs without allowing a run to score.
• The Pirates head out west tomorrow as they face the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First pitch is set for 10:10PM. Lets Go Bucs!