North Shore Nine

The Pittsburgh Pirates came back down to earth Friday night, falling 5-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers after an emotional sweep of the Dodgers. Tyler and Neil broke it all down on the North Shore Nine Postgame Show powered by Primanti Brothers, highlighting both the encouraging signs and the ongoing frustrations that define this team.

Johan Oviedo was the biggest positive. After a shaky, 30-pitch first inning, the right-hander settled in and delivered five strong innings of one-run ball, striking out four. His evolving pitch mix and fastball jump have given him new life as a starter, and his fight on the mound has the guys convinced he belongs in next year’s rotation.

But the bullpen couldn’t hold, as Carmen Mlodzinski and others struggled to keep the game close. Neil noted this has been a recurring theme: too many base runners, too many stressful innings, and not enough shutdown relief.

Offensively, the bats were quiet against a familiar face. Former Pirate Quinn Priester, now with Milwaukee, tossed seven solid innings and made his old club look overmatched. Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz each drove in a run, but the lack of power loomed large again. As Tyler and Neil pointed out, this team ranks dead last in slugging, and without consistent home run threats, games like this will keep slipping away.

With just a month left, the Pirates still have plenty of questions to answer. Tune in to the full episode for all the analysis, and subscribe to North Shore Nine for daily postgame coverage and unfiltered Pirates talk.