Hayes and Suwinski homer as Pirates send NL Central-leading Brewers to 2nd straight loss
Ke'Bryan Hayes homered and tripled, Jack Suwinski drilled his 23rd home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night.
Pittsburgh won for the sixth time in seven games behind six strong innings from Luis Ortiz (4-4), who recovered from an early bout of wildness to send the NL Central-leading Brewers to a second straight loss.
Ortiz gave up two runs in the second, when he loaded the bases with no outs on two walks and a hit batter. The Brewers scratched across a pair of runs on sacrifice flies, but Ortiz settled down from there to win his second consecutive start. David Bednar worked the ninth for his 32nd save.
Suwinski's two-run homer in the fourth off Corbin Burnes (9-8) tied the game. Hayes put the Pirates in front with a shot to left-center that just cleared the wall next to the 410-foot sign with two outs in the fifth. Bryan Reynolds followed with a double and scored when Andrew McCutchen doubled down the left-field line.
McCutchen doubled twice for Pittsburgh but remained stuck on 299 career home runs. The five-time All-Star exited in the bottom of the fifth with left Achilles tightness. The 36-year-old winced as he reached second base on his second double and hobbled between second and third when Connor Joe flied out to end the inning.
Burnes gave up four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in six innings. He is winless since July 20, a span of eight starts in which his ERA has been a solid if not spectacular 3.98.
The inability to take advantage when Burnes is on the hill has been one of the few missteps by the Brewers of late. Milwaukee used an eight-game winning streak in late August to take control of the division.
The Brewers took two of three from Philadelphia over the weekend but began a six-game road trip through Pittsburgh and New York with a whimper.
William Contreras went 1 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, but Milwaukee left six runners on base and was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. The sacrifice flies by Victor Caratini and Brice Turang in the second marked all the offense the Brewers could muster against Ortiz and four relievers.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Adrian Houser (right elbow) threw a bullpen and "is doing really well," according to manager Craig Counsell. ... CF Garrett Mitchell (left shoulder subluxation) is "tracking" toward a minor league rehab assignment, according to Counsell. Mitchell is supposed to meet with a consultant this week to determine next steps.
Pirates: RF Henry Davis (right hand strain) took live batting practice on the field.
UP NEXT
The series continues Tuesday, when Brandon Woodruff (3-1, 2.70 ERA) starts for the Brewers. The Pirates had yet to announce a starter.
