:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69655221/1234305409.0.jpg)
Good teams are supposed to take care of their business against bad teams, and that is exactly what the Milwaukee Brewers did on Thursday night against Pittsburgh. The Brewers closed out the road series with a sweep, concluding a three-game set which was largely non-competitive.
This game against the Pirates was actually close in the early going. The Brewers got on the board first in the second inning, when Tyrone Taylor doubled with one out, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a ball in play by Lorenzo Cain. But Pittsburgh starter Chad Kuhl and Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta were both dealing, until Kuhl hit a wall in the sixth inning.
Willy Adames led off that frame with a single, then scored on a one-out double by Rowdy Tellez to make it 2-0. ThenChris Stratton came in for Kuhl, but that didn’t matter as Taylor doubled home Tellez to push it to 3-0. After a Lorenzo Cain walk, Luis Urias lined to right for out number two, which brought up Manny Pina. The backup catcher deposited a 1-1 curveball out over the fence in left-center for a three-run bomb, pushing the score to 6-0.
That would start a string of Milwaukee scoring in each of the final four innings. In the seventh, Tellez launched a solo shot for his fourth homer as a Brewer to make it 7-0. Lorenzo Cain reached on an error leading off the eighth, then scored on Manny Pina’s second home run of the day, this time a two-run blast to make it 9-0. Finally, in the ninth, another crooked number. Tellez singled to start the rally, then Taylor doubled to put runners on second and third. LoCain singled to score both of them to make it 11-0. Manny Pina singled on the infield, then Pablo Reyes doubled to score Cain and make the score 12-0.
The contest ended at that score, with the Brewers holding the Pirates scoreless thanks to some tremendous efforts by the pitching staff. Peralta worked six dominant innings of shutout baseball on 68 pitches, yielding just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He was removed when the lead swelled, giving way to Miguel Sanchez. He worked around a hit to post a scoreless frame, then Devin Williams and Jandel Gustave each pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close out the victory.
With the trade deadline looming on Friday, the Brewers now head to Atlanta to take on the Braves in a three-game set at Truist Park. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6:20 PM central, with Corbin Burnes slated to toe the rubber against Touki Toussaint.