Pirates Stave Off Brewers in Thrilling Victory

Pham hit his first home run with the Pirates after signing as a free agent this offseason. It was also his first home run since Sept. 10, 2024, as he hit a solo home run vs. the New York Yankees at Yankees Stadium with the Kansas City Royals.

Right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Stratton took over from Ashcraft in the bottom of the fourth inning and after forcing Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio into a groundout, he started to struggle.

Stratton walked designated hitter Christian Yelich, allowed back-to-back singles to catcher William Contreras and then second baseman Brice Turang, scoring Yelich and giving the Brewers their first run of the ballgame.

Brewers left fielder Isaac Collins then reached on a single, loading the bases, and third baseman Caleb Durbin hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Contreras and cutting the deficit to 3-2. Stratton struck out first baseman Jake Bauers, ending the inning.

Reynolds led off the top of the fifth inning with a double and then Gonzales singled, scoring Reynolds to make it 4-2 to the Pirates, but got tagged out at second base, as he tried to stretch that into a double.

Stratton allowed a leadoff single to Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz in the bottom of the fifth inning and hit right fielder Sam Frelick with a pitch, which ended his outing, as right-handed pitcher Chase Shugart came in.

Shugart would pull off an impressive double play, but then allowed a two-run home run to Yelich, who tied the game for the Brewers at 4-4.

Pham hit a one out single in the top of the sixth inning and then shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa would triple on a ball into right field, scoring Pham and giving the Pirates the lead back at 5-4.

Shugart got to the seventh inning, before right-handed pitcher Isaac Mattson came in and got the last two outs, including a strikeout of Chourio.

Mattson then faced Yelich in the bottom of the eighth inning and struck him out on 11 pitches in an impressive dual.

He allowed a single to Chourio and almost another single to Turang, but Pirates catcher Joey Bart made an incredible defensive play, getting Turang out by an inch with a great throw.

Mattson ended his outing with a strikeout of Collins on four pitches, as the Pirates held onto to their slim lead after eight innings.

Gonzales would get his fifth hit of the game in the top of the ninth inning, one of just six players in the MLB with five or more hits in a game in 2025.

Right-handed pitcher David Bednar came in to close the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff single to Durbin.

Bauers almost hit a walk-off two-run home run, but it went foul and then Durbin attempted to steal second base, but went off the bag and Kiner-Falefa tagged him for the first out.

Bednar walked Bauers, but would strike out Ortiz on a curveball, getting the second out, then got Frelick to fly out, earning his 11th save in 11 opportunities in 2025.

The Pirates and Brewers face off for the second time in the series on June 24. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m. (EST).