The Milwaukee Brewers salvaged their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon, as the offense picked up the bullpen after rough outings from both Nick Mears and Jared Koenig.
Bailey Falter got the start for the Pirates and has looked like a Cy Young candidate in the month of May, allowing just one run over 23 2⁄3 innings (0.38 ERA) entering today.
That wouldn’t remain the case for long.
Jackson Chourio started the afternoon with a walk and moved to third on a Christian Yelich single two batters later. With runners at the corners and one out, Rhys Hoskins brought Chourio home with a sacrifice fly. Yelich advanced to second on the play before Isaac Collins walked. Sal Frelick then came up in the clutch, hitting a single that ultimately scored both Yelich and Collins thanks to an errant throw by Oneil Cruz in center.
Logan Henderson looked good early, going 1-2-3 in the first. He loaded the bases in the second but escaped unscathed thanks to a nice catch by Chourio to end the inning.
Oneil Cruz then hit a solo shot — and that might be an understatement — to put the Pirates on the board. His homer was recorded at 122.9 mph off the bat, the hardest hit ball in Statcast history.
Falter and Henderson both settled in from there, with neither allowing another runner past second. Falter exited with two outs in the sixth and Frelick at first, but Isaac Mattson would strand him there.
Henderson took 89 pitches to get through five innings, as he allowed one run on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts, putting him in line for a win. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t stand.
Mears took the ball in the sixth and had some struggles, allowing a triple to Alexander Canario, an RBI single to Adam Frazier, and another RBI single to Tommy Pham to knot the game up at 3-3. He recorded just one out before Koenig took over with a runner at first.
Koenig escaped the inning, allowing no more damage as he got to come back out in the seventh. The second inning of work didn’t go nearly as well, as he allowed a leadoff single to Andrew McCutchen and, after recording two outs, walked Canario and gave up a two-run double to Frazier, putting Pittsburgh up 5-3.
Ryan Borucki took over for Mattson in the eighth, needing just six outs to finish up a 3-1 series win for Pittsburgh. Yelich started the inning with a 106-mph lineout to left, but Hoskins followed with a walk, and Collins hit a double to put the tying run in scoring position with one out.
After Frelick flew out for the second out, Caleb Durbin came up in the clutch, drilling a two-run double over Pham’s head in left to make it 5-5. Brice Turang immediately brought Durbin in with a double of his own, flipping the game into a 6-5 lead for Milwaukee.
Abner Uribe got the eighth inning and, after allowing a leadoff single to Pham (that was very nearly a great catch by Turang), he balked to allow the tying run to move into scoring position. He struck out Jared Triolo and intentionally walked the dangerous Cruz to put runners at first and second with one out, but he helped himself out as he picked off Pham at second base for the second out. A strikeout of McCutchen helped him escape the jam as he pulled out the finger guns.
The ninth inning also brought drama, with Trevor Megill allowing an infield single to Canario with two outs. Canario stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position for the second consecutive inning. Luckily, Megill was able to prevent him from getting any further, as Frazier grounded out to end the game with a 6-5 Brewers win.
Henderson was unable to get his fourth win in as many starts, but he still had a solid day as his ERA sits at 1.71 this season. Uribe and Megill were both solid out of the bullpen, helping pick up Mears and Koenig.
Offensively, Collins and Frelick led the way with two hits each, and Collins reached a third time via walk. Every starter reached at least once, as the team put together seven hits and five walks.
The Brewers return home for a quick three-game set with the Boston Red Sox beginning Monday afternoon. Chad Patrick will start opposite Garrett Crochet with a Memorial Day first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m.