WP: Zack Greinke (11-4)
LP: Paul Maholm (6-13)
HR: Ryan Braun (22), Prince Fielder (27)
MVP: Zack Greinke (+.208)
LVP: Yuniesky Betancourt (-.043)
It's always nice to see the Pirates at Miller Park.
Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder's back-to-back home runs highlighted a great offensive performance today, as the Brewers withstood a late Pirates rally and put the game out of reach in the eighth inning for a 7-2 win. The Brewers' offense was led today by multi-hit games from Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGehee, and Jonathan Lucroy. Zack Greinke was on his game as well, limiting the Pirates to two runs and six hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
The Brewers got started early today, with a Josh Wilson RBI single to score Casey McGehee in the second inning. They would add on two more in the third inning on a Casey McGehee RBI triple (no, you did not misread that) and another in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Braun. Meanwhile, through seven innings, Zack Greinke was having a magnificent day. Through seven innings, he had only allowed three hits and one walk. He was completely on top of his game.
However, in the eighth inning, it started to unravel. The Pirates scored two runs on RBI doubles from Michael McKenry and Andrew McCutchen. Greinke was done after 7 2/3 innings, and Francisco Rodriguez came in to finish the eighth inning and hold the lead at 4-2. Then, to start the Brewers half of the inning, Braun and Fielder went back-to-back with home runs to push the lead out to 6-2. The Brewers would score another run on an RBI single from Jonathan Lucroy to make it 7-2.
The scariest moment for the Brewers came in that same inning. Francisco Rodriguez was allowed to bat for himself so he could finish the game, and managed to get a hit. Corey Hart would ground out to end the inning, but Rodriguez couldn't come back out to pitch the ninth inning. He left the game with a leg injury, though reports say that he just had a cramp. Kameron Loe came in to finish the game with a perfect ninth inning.
The Brewers are now 52-17 against the Pirates since 2007. That includes a 34-3 record at Miller Park.
The series against the Pirates continues tomorrow afternoon. Remember that it is a 3:10 PM start time, as this will be a national broadcast.