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Brewers 6, Pirates 5: Bryan Reynolds' two homers have Pittsburgh storming back from down six
The Milwaukee Brewers are looking for a 12th straight win, triggering the famous George Webb free-burger promotion in the process, with a battle against the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 13, at American Family Field.
Something will have to give; the Pirates haven't lost in five straight starts (and seven of eight) by right-hander Mitch Keller (5-10, 3.86 ERA), who gets the ball in the 1:10 p.m. CT finale. The Brewers, meanwhile, are countering with right-hander Brandon Woodruff (4-0, 2.29), and the Brewers have won all six of his starts since he returned from a long-term absence necessitated by shoulder surgery.
Bryan Reynolds back to his Brewers-crushing ways
It has, by no accounts, been a good year for Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
But that doesn't seem to matter when he's facing the Brewers. A career .317 hitter with 14 home runs and a .923 OPS against Milwaukee, Reynolds accounted for all five of the Pirates' runs with two swings, the second of which was a two-run homer off reliever Nick Mears in the sixth.
Reynolds entered the day batting .242 with a .688 OPS and 11 homers, all of which are his personal lowest numbers since the shortened 2020 season but singlehandedly turned a 6-0 game to 6-5 in a span of two innings.
Pirates starter chased after four rough innings
For the 18th time in their last 60 games (excluding the use of an opener), an opposing starter didn't record an out in the fifth inning against the Brewers. Milwaukee's offense tagged Mitch Keller for six runs on eight hits over four innings, tied for the most runs he's allowed in 25 starts this year.
Pirates tag Shelby Miller for a crooked number
Shelby Miller's first two outings with Milwaukee were crisp. His third, not so much.
Miller allowed a three-run homer to Bryan Reynolds after the first two Pirates batters reached base against him in the fifth, cutting the lead to 6-3 after Brandon Woodruff exited following only four innings and 65 pitches.
Before he departed, Miller allowed two more scalded balls to Pirates hitters, a Nick Gonzales single and Joey Bart ground-rule double. That led to last year's trade deadline reliever acquisition, Nick Mears, replacing this year's deadline reliever add and maintaining the 6-3 lead by getting a broken-bat pop up.
The 34-year-old righty had pitched to a 1.88 ERA through his first 39 games of the year between the Diamondbacks and Brewers, and had yet to allow more than two runs in any outing.
The fourth brings about four more runs
Another big hit from the suddenly red-hot Joey Ortiz sparked a four-run rally that pushed the lead to 6-0 in the fourth.
With Blake Perkins on second after a walk and a steal, Ortiz, who entered the day batting .372 with seven doubles and a .948 OPS in 11 August games, got the bat head out on a two-strike sweeper and smoked it at 105.4 mph through the left side of the infield to drive in his 10th run of the month.
It was the beginning of four straight RBI hits in the span of six pitches. Sal Frelick followed with his second hit, getting the meat of the bat on a fastball down the middle for booming double to the wall in right, then Isaac Collins sliced a double of his own to left before William Contreras capped the rally with a single.
Anthony Seigler, Sal Frelick give the Brewers the lead
The Brewers, as they so often do, took advantage of a mistake from the opposition, this time to open the scoring in the third. Anthony Seigler led off with a single against Pirates starter Mitch Keller and moved to second on heads-up base running when center fielder Jack Suwinski bungled the ball in center. Joey Ortiz moved him to third on a grounder to the right side, then Sal Frelick followed by sizzling a single to center through the drawn-in infield.
Christian Yelich followed three batters later — suddenly walking up to the plate to Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" — by dumping another RBI single into the outfield to push the lead to two.
Crowd fired up as Brandon Woodruff escapes a third jam in three innings
Three innings, three times the Pirates backed Brandon Woodruff into a corner only for him to bully his way out.
After the right-hander escaped the second with runners on second and third by striking out Ronny Simon striking, he emphatically brought an end to the third by punching out Suwinski looking with a fastball at the top of the zone. With two more two-out hits from the Pirates in the inning, that ran their total to six men left on base through three frames.
Joey Ortiz's defensive gem saves a run in first
The Pirates weren't squaring Woodruff up a bit early, but he got some help from his defense to escape without any damage coming across the board.
After a two-out walk and single put runners on the corners, Gonzales slammed a one-hopper back up the middle that deflected off Woodruff's glove. At shortstop, Ortiz adjusted his route to make a stop and strong throw to first to get the final out of the inning.
Pirates place Oneil Cruz on concussion list
Pirates standout outfielder Oneil Cruz was placed on the 7-day concussion list by the Pirates, who recalled outfielder Ronny Simon and immediately inserted him into the leadoff spot Aug. 13.
Cruz was involved in a collision Aug. 12 at American Family Field trying to dive for a baseball; he stayed in the game for a while but then left for a pinch hitter as he was evaluated for a head injury.
What time is the Brewers game against the Pirates?
1:10 p.m. CT
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
If the Brewers win, will George Webb burgers become instantly free?
No, George Webb will announce at noon on Aug. 14 the future date and time of the hamburger giveaway. The burger chain recommended following its website, Facebook or Twitter for updates.
More: Milwaukee is talking about the Brewers and George Webb. But what do players know about the diner chain?
Brewers lineup
Sal Frelick, right field
Isaac Collins, left field
William Contreras, catcher
Christian Yelich, designated hitter
Andrew Vaughn, first base
Brice Turang, second base
Blake Perkins, center field
Anthony Seigler, third base
Joey Ortiz, shortstop
Brandon Woodruff, starting pitcher
Pirates lineup
Ronny Simon, right field
Spencer Horwitz, first base
Bryan Reynolds, designated hitter
Tommy Pham, left field
Nick Gonzales, second base
Jack Suwinski, center field
Joey Bart, catcher
Jared Triolo, shortstop
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, third base
Mitch Keller, starting pitcher
Brewers schedule
Aug. 14 – Off day
Brewers at Reds, Aug. 15, 5:40 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Cincinnati RHP Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.49 ERA). TV – AppleTV+, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers at Reds, Aug. 16, 5:40 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.49) vs. Cincinnati RHP Zack Littell (9-8, 3.60). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers at Reds, Aug. 17, 12:40 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP José Quintana (10-4, 3.44) vs. Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (8-3, 2.41). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pirates, live updates, score, lineups, game time
