Brewers ride five home runs to 10-4 victory over Pirates

WP: Yovani Gallardo (3-1)
LP: Wandy Rodriguez (2-1)

HR: Jean Segura (2), Yovani Gallardo (2), Norichika Aoki (3), Carlos Gomez (4), Yuniesky Betancourt (5), Garrett Jones (3)

MVP: Jean Segura (+.143 WPA)
LVP: Jonathan Lucroy (-.054 WPA)

Box Score
Win Expectancy Graph

(Author's note: I apologize for the late recap, looks like it just was missed tonight. Here is your early morning recap.)

The offenses wasted no time to get the scoring started tonight. Yovani Gallardo walked the opening batter, Starling Marte, and he ended up scoring to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. However, the Brewers came right back in the bottom of the first and scored five runs. The first two came from a Norichika Aoki walk and Jean Segura home run to center field. Ryan Braun followed it with a double, and Jonathan Lucroy walked (but was picked off first almost right away). Rickie Weeks also followed with a walk, then Carlos Gomez also walked to load the bases. In total, Wandy Rodriguez walked four Brewers in the first inning. The last two of those would come back to hurt him, as an RBI groundout from Yuniesky Betancourt and an RBI single from Martin Maldonado made it 5-1 after the first inning.

The Pirates would get a run back in the top of the third inning from a Garrett Jones RBI double, but the Brewers would expand their lead again thanks to back-to-back home runs from Gallardo and Aoki in the fourth inning. The Brewers would go back-to-back again in the fifth inning, as Gomez and Betancourt went back-to-back. After the fifth inning, it was 9-2 Brewers.

Following the Betancourt home run, the Brewers next three hits (from Maldonado, Segura, and Gomez) were all triples, all of which were just inches from leaving the park. The Brewers were only able to cash in on the Gomez triple, thanks to an RBI single from Betancourt. In total, the Brewers had thirteen hits tonight, nine of which went for extra bases. Here are some of the highlights from this:

• It is the eighth time in Brewers history that the Brewers hit at least three triples in a game.
• The thirty-four total bases are the most total bases for the Brewers in a game since August 27, 2012 (a 15-4 win against the Cubs).
• It is the first time in Brewers history that the Brewers hit five home runs and three triples in a game, and only the seventh time it has happened in MLB since 1916 (according to B-Ref). The last time it happened was May 13, 1958 between the Giants and Dodgers.
• This is the first time since 2005 that the Brewers had two sets of back-to-back HRs in the same game. In 2005, Carlos Lee and Geoff Jenkins had one set, and Russell Branyan and Damian Miller had the other.
• Jean Segura finished a double short of the cycle. He hit a home run in the first inning, a triple in the sixth, and a single in the eighth.
• Martin Maldonado now has more career triples than Bob Uecker. It also may be his last career triple.

Of course, the Brewers didn't need all of this offense, as Gallardo gave them a great start. He struggled early, needing 64 pitches to get through the first three innings. He settled down after that, retiring the last thirteen batters he faced in a row, and only needed 40 pitches to get through the last four innings. His final line on the day was seven innings pitched, three hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, and five strikeouts.

Alfredo Figaro pitched the eighth and allowed two runs on a Garrett Jones home run, and Brandon Kintzler finished the game with eight pitches in the ninth, with one strikeout. The game also ended with an interesting defensive switch, as Maldonado and Lucroy switched positions for the ninth inning. Maldonado went behind the plate, and Lucroy spent his first ever inning at first base.

The series against the Pirates continues Tuesday night at 7:10 pm. James McDonald starts for the Pirates, and Marco Estrada takes the hill for the Brewers.