Seven strong innings from Wily Peralta lead Brewers to their seventh straight win, beat Pirates 4-2

WP: Wily Peralta (1-0)
LP: Francisco Liriano (0-2)
SV: Francisco Rodriguez (3)

HR: Aramis Ramirez (1), Mark Reynolds (3), Neil Walker (2)

Box Score

The Brewers came back to Milwaukee tonight, and they brought some of their good offense with them.

As the game started, it looked like it would be a pitcher's duel.  Through three innings, Francisco Liriano had not allowed a Brewer to reach base, and Wily Peralta had allowed a total of two hits and two walks.  In the bottom of the fourth, Carlos Gomez broke the streak with a walk, then Aramis Ramirez hit his first home run of the season to put the Brewers on the board with a 2-0 lead.  The Brewers would score another two runs in the fifth inning thanks to a solo home run from Mark Reynolds and an RBI single from Carlos Gomez.

Wily Peralta bounced back from a tough first start to shut down the Pirates for most of the game.  He kept the Pirates off the board for the first six innings, but ended up allowing a two-run home run following a throwing error by Ramirez in the seventh inning to account for the Pirates only runs in the game.  Peralta would finish the seventh inning and end the game with four hits allowed, two runs (only one earned), two walks, and four strikeouts

Meanwhile, for the Pirates, Francisco Liriano started well with his three full perfect innings, but then fell apart.  Over the last three innings, he allowed four runs and two walks, leading to four runs scored by the Brewers.  He did have six strikeouts in the game, but only two in his last three innings.

The bullpen took over in the eighth inning and continued their dominance.  Jim Henderson pitched the eighth and pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Francisco Rodriguez closed the game in the ninth, striking out the side for his third save.

The series continues tomorrow as the Brewers try for their eighth straight win.  Yovani Gallardo makes his third start of the season for the Brewers, and Edinson Volquez will oppose for the Pirates.  First pitch is at 6:10 pm.