North Shore Nine

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 tonight. This was the first game of a seven-game road trip. The Pirates’ offense overcame disastrous relief pitching in the late innings. They now sit at 19-23.

Mitch Keller the game, providing 6 innings of shutout ball. Keller struck out 7 batters without walking any batters. This comes on the heels of a complete game in his last outing.

The Pirates took the lead early, with Jack Suwinski hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning. In the 3rd inning, Bryan Reynolds extended the lead with an RBI double. In the 7th inning, the Pirates added more insurance as McCutchen and Oneil Cruz each hit RBI singles.

In the bottom half of the 7th inning, Josh Fleming relieved Keller. He struggled, allowing a two-run double to Willy Adames. However, Oneil Cruz ended the inning by throwing Adames out as he attempted to stretch it to a triple.

In the next half-inning, Yasmani Grandal extended the lead back to five runs with a two-run bomb. Grandal’s OPS now sits at .806 in his 7 games as a Pirate.

Josh Fleming remained in the game for the 8th inning, a decision that would prove to be ineffective. Fleming failed to record an out, allowing a grand slam to Jake Bauers. With the lead at just one run, Hunter Stratton entered the game. He was able to hold the lead, stranding a runner at third base.

The Pirates offense answered again in the top of the 9th inning, as Bryan Reynolds extended the lead with a leadoff home run. David Bednar close the game out with a 1-2-3 inning.

Bryan Reynolds throughout the game, going 5-5 with a home run and two doubles. Overall, the Pirates tallied 13 hits, six of which were for extra bases. The offense has come to life the past few games, a stark contrast to the dreadful stretch over the past two weeks.

Game 2 of the series will be at 7:40 EST tomorrow night. Quinn Priester takes the mound for the Bucs, while Joe Ross pitches for the Brewers.