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Brewers Starting Pitcher: Kyle Lohse
Pirates Starting Pitcher: Jeff Locke
Winning Pitcher: Jeff Locke
Losing Pitcher: Kyle Lohse
HR: Starling Marte
The Brewers did something in this game they have rarely done this season. They took an early lead in the first inning. Ryan Braun was leading off for the first time in his major league career and he responded with a single. Jean Segura continued pounding the ball to the opposite field. An aggressive Braun went from first to third drawing the throw on which Segura took second. Then Jonathan Lucroy hit an RBI sac-fly. Unfortunately they would only get the 1 run.
It only took 2 batters for the Pirates to tie the game. Josh Harrison singled and then scored on a double from Gregory Polanco. Three batters later they'd score two more runs on a Starling Marte single. They wouldn't score more but 7 batters came to the plate that inning.
In the fifth inning Marte would tack on another 3 unanswered runs with a home run for a 6-1 lead.
Fast forward to the ninth inning. Jean Segura was able to score from second on a blooper by Khris Davis. It was too little too late though as the Brewers would fall 6-2. It was yet another disappointing game for the Brewers whose season record is now 2-8.
Outstanding Offensive Play
There wasn't really one singular offensive effort this evening (for the Brewers anyway). Jean Segura stayed hot though with 2 hits and a stolen base on the night. For the (super young) season he is hitting 350/381/475 with a .375 wOBA and a 143 wRC+.
Outstanding Defensive Play
It was a match-up between Jean Segura's arm and Starling Marte's legs. In the third inning Segura had to range far to his right to pick a sharp grounder off the bat of Marte. With Marte's speed there wasn't much time for Segura to react but he was able to secure the out with a strong throw from almost behind third base. It doesn't get much better than that.
Outstanding Pitching Performance
Tyler Thornburg looked pretty good in two innings of work. He didn't allow a run and struck out two batters though he did allow one walk and one hit. His velocity was lower than normal in most of his previous outings but was strong tonight. He sat 93-94 and hit 95 at least once. I wonder if perhaps he was still working his way back to being 100% after the elbow injury last year and long layoff? He'll be a big time contributor to the bullpen if he can regain his form.
A Bunch of Bulls---
In his first inning of work Tyler Thornburg just barely grazed Andrew McCutchen's arm. It was clearly an accident. In the ninth inning with a 5 run lead the totally mature Pirates plunked Ryan Braun as retaliation. Everyone hates the Cardinals because they're consistently really good and sometimes a little arrogant about it (Best fans in baseball, The "Cardinal Way", etc). I hate the Pirates because they're juvenile meat heads (see The Whiny Child Gerrit Cole's temper tantrum from last year and now stuff like this).
For all the crap the Brewers get about being cocky or whatever, they never succumb to old school retaliation. Which is a good thing. Because that kind of thing is just a bunch of bulls---.
Next Game
Sunday April 19th, 12:35 pm CST: Matt Garza vs The Whiny Child Gerrit Cole