Series Preview #13: Brewers' Best Games Against The Pirates

We've already talked to Charlie from Bucs Dugout once this season, so it's time to take a look at Brewer hitters' best performances against the Pirates. As always, these games are sorted by WPA.

5) David Bell, August 16, 2006: +.481 WPA

From time to time I completely forget that Bell finished his 12 year, six team major league career with the Brewers, playing 53 games at the end of the 2006 season. He had a handful of pretty good games during his 2+ months with the team but this was arguably his best one, as he went 4-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base in the Brewers' 5-2, 13 inning win.

Bell had already contributed a single during the Brewers' run scoring fifth, scored the game tying run in the seventh and been on base two other times when he came to the plate with game tied and the bases loaded in the top of the 13th and singled up the middle, scoring Tony Graffanino and Bill Hall. The Brewers added another run and Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect bottom half to nail down the victory.

Follow the jump for much more!

4) Mike Cameron, August 24, 2008: +.522 WPA

August was getting ready to turn to September, and the 2008 Brewers were making their move. They entered play 15-6 in the month, and sent CC Sabathia to the mound to attempt to complete a home sweep against the Pirates. Sabathia was good in the game, allowing just one run over six innings, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead for him: David Riske and Salomon Torres combined to allow runs in the seventh and ninth as the Pirates rallied to tie it and send the game to extra innings.

Fortunately, on this day the Brewers had Mike Cameron. He was perfect on the day, going 5-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base. Cameron drove in the Brewers' first run with a single in the sixth, gave the Brewers a 3-2 lead with a solo shot in the eighth, and singled and stole second in the eleventh. Laynce Nix and Jason Kendall stranded him on second in that inning, but the Brewers rallied in the 12th and a J.J. Hardy walkoff single gave the Brewers a 4-3 win.

3) Corey Hart, July 11, 2010: +.540 WPA

John Axford had a pretty incredible 2010 season, but this game is a perfect example of how even the best relievers can slip up from time to time. The Brewers gave Axford the ball tied at 4 in the top of the ninth, and the Pirates managed to score to take the lead on two infield singles and a sac fly.

Corey Hart, however, came to the rescue. He was 0-for-4 on the day when he came to the plate in the ninth, having already grounded into a double play and struck out twice. Dave Bush (pinch running for Jim Edmonds) was on second with one out when Hart finally came through, hammering a home run to left to give the Brewers a 6-5 walkoff victory.

2) Prince Fielder, August 31, 2005: +.661 WPA

Fielder's first major league season didn't feature a lot of memorable moments. He was called up briefly in June and for good in August, but was largely used as a pinch hitter/DH while Lyle Overbay played out his final Brewer season at first base.

One of those pinch hit appearances came on this day, with Overbay standing on first base and the Brewers trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. Fielder went deep on the at bat's second pitch, and his second career home run gave the Brewers a 6-5 walkoff win.

1) Scott Podsednik, August 16, 2003: +.868 WPA

With all the memorable moments the Brewers have had against the Pirates over the years, I had completely forgotten this one. Podsednik went 4-for-5 in the game, finishing a triple short of the cycle and as the only Brewer with multiple hits in a 6-4 victory.

Podsednik's final strike came in the top of the ninth. The Brewers were down 4-3 with one out, Eric Young on second and Brooks Kieschnick on first. The Pirates brought in reliever Joe Beimel to pitch to Podsednik, who hit a three run shot to give the Brewers the lead on the second pitch. Dan Kolb walked the bases loaded but pitched out of it to record the save.

Just for fun, here are the next five on the list: