W: DJ Carrasco (2-2)
L: Dave Bush (4-8)
S: Octavio Dotel (20)
MVP: Jim Edmonds (+.145)
LVP: Dave Bush (-.443)
Win Expectancy Graph
SBNation Coverage
Dave Bush and the Brewers were awful early, spotting the Pirates nine runs (five earned) in the first inning. After that, the pitching staff settled down, allowing just two runs the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Brewers offense continually chipped away at the lead but fell just short. Exciting as the near-comeback was, this was the type of game someone new to baseball should avoid at all costs. Terrible defense, terrible pitching, and slow pace won't win over any fans, win or lose.
Notables:
- Jim Edmonds had four hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle. He hit a ball hard into the left center field gap in the ninth but didn't test one of his many sore parts.
- Every Brewers starter had a hit except Dave Bush. Alcides Escobar, Jonathan Lucroy, and Rickie Weeks joined Edmonds in the multi-hit club. Each had two base knocks.
- Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless inning, giving him an ERA of 2.08 in his last 13 games (13 IP) and a 7.50 ERA on the season.
- Neil Walker had five hits, the first Pirates rookie to do that since John Wehner in 1991.
- The Pirates scored 9 runs in the first inning for the first time since 1892. The Brewers are Milwaukee's third major league club since 1892.
- Pirates skipper John Russell was ejected because he didn't like the umpire power dynamic. Apparently he objected to first base umpire DJ Reyburn making a call that properly belonged to home plate umpire (and crew chief) Derryl Cousins.