Pirates, Paul Skenes Struggle in Loss to Brewers

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes lost his battle with a Milwaukee Brewers phenom in a 4-2 defeat at American Family Field.

The Pirates lose the series, after they dropped the second game the night prior, 9-3 on June 24 to the Brewers. They did win the series opener, 5-4 on June 23

Pittsburgh drops to 32-50 overall and 12-29 on the road, while Milwaukee improves to 45-36 overall and 25-16 at home.

Right fielder Adam Frazier led off the game for the Pirates with a walk against Brewers right-handed starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. Frazier stole second base and made it to third base on a flyout from designated hitter Bryan Reynolds.

Misiorowski would shutdown the Pirates, striking out first baseman Spencer Horwitz and second baseman Nick Gonzales, keeping the game level.

Skenes walked Brewers right fielder Sam Frelick in the bottom of the first inning, but got out unscathed, as he forced center fielder Jackson Chourio into a groundout and then struckout designated hitter Christian Yelich and first baseman Rhys Hoskins back-to-back.

He loaded the bases in the top of the second inning, as he walked Brewers left fielder Isaac Collins and then allowed back-back singles to second baseman Brice Turang and third baseman Caleb Durbin.

Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz hit a soft grounder, that Skenes threw to first base for the first out of the inning, which scored Collins and gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

Catcher Eric Hasse then hit a ball to short center field and Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz came up just short, as Haase made it into second base for a double, moving Durbin to third base and scoring Turang, as Milwaukee made it a 2-0 game.

Frelick hit a grounder to Gonzales, who would try to get Durbin out at home, but threw it way over Pirates catcher Henry Davis. This allowed Frelick to make it to second base, Haase to go to third base and Durbin to easily score, with the Brewers leading 3-0.

Skenes received a mound visit from Pirates manager Don Kelly, but stayed in the game and got a flyout from Chourio.

He did allow a single to Yelich, who scored Haase and increased Milwaukee's lead to 4-0, before getting Haskins to ground out, ending a 37-pitch inning.

Reynolds led off the top of the fourth inning with a single off of Misiorowski and then Horwitz walked, putting two runners on with no outs.

The Pirates again didn't get any runs in this situation, as Gonzales grounded into a double play and then Cruz struckout.

Skenes didn't allow a baserunner over the next two innings and ended his outing over four innings. He allowed four hits, two walks and four earned runs with four strikeouts over 78 pitches.

Misiorowski finished his day after five innings, but won the duel between the two pitchers. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while posting eight strikeouts over 74 pitches.

Right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows, who has served as the No. 5 starter for the Pirates, came in the bottom of the fifth inning for the Pirates. He allowed just one walk and posted a strikeout over 30 pitches in 2.1 innings pitched, giving him a chance to start over the weekend.

Cruz would reach second base in the top of the seventh inning as Collins completely missed the ball in left field. Left fielder Tommy Pham then came through with his second hit of the game, scoring Cruz and cutting the deficit to 4-1.

Frazier walked with one out in the top of the eighth inning and then after Reynolds struck out, Horwitz hit a double down the right field line, scoring Frazier and making it a two-run deficit, 4-2.

Pirates left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson got the final two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, while right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana shutdown the Brewers in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Pirates will get the following day off and then host the New York Mets for a weekend series at PNC Park, June 27-29.