Josh Harrison lined an opposite field two bagger with one down in the third; Pirate lead off guys have been in an unbelievable groove this month. He stayed cemented at second; the Bucs have four hits, three for extra bases, but just one tally. Logan Schafer opened with a single to right and was bunted over. Cole plunked Carlos Gomez with a change up and an out later walked Ryan Braun to juice the sacks. The wildness hurt when Jonathan Lucroy fisted an inside heater to right in front of Josh, who froze before coming in, driving home a pair and making it 2-1 after three.
Pedro opened the fourth with a walk. JT would have joined him, but swung through ball four and whiffed as Pedro, off on the pitch, stole second. With two gone, Mercer drew a four-pitch free pass. Chris Stewart gave a 3-2 change a ride, but it was pulled in at the fence by Schafer. Cole worked a quiet frame, picking up a pair of strikeouts.
Harrison singled with an out in the fifth, and was left on board. Gomez walked and Scooter Gennett doubled with an out. Lucroy walked a batter later, but Cole got out of the bases loaded jam. JT singled with one down in the sixth, but was erased on an Ike DP. Jean Segura doubled with an out in the Brew Crew half, and Cole's woes continued as Ricky Weeks brought him home with a two-out infield knock. Elian Herrera followed with a knock. That brought on Justin Miller, who closed the frame.
Mercer singled off Brandon Kintzler to open the seventh, and was bunted over by Stewart. He died at second. Jared Hughes gave up a lead off knock to Khris Davis and Lucroy followed with another to put Brewers on the corner. A sac fly plated another run. Another came in when Segura singled off Hughes and Ike's throw home was off, allowing the run to score and Segura to get to second. It's now 5-1 Milwaukee.
Will Smith worked the eighth. An error and JT single put in in a two-out jam. Gaby doubled off a 2-0 heater to plate one run, with JT stopping at third. Mercer bounced to short, and the Bucs let a late and maybe last chance to get back in the game go by the boards. Herrera opened with a knock against Hughes, but was caught stealing. That was a good thing after Davis doubled with two away, but Jared managed to keep the board clean.
Francisco Rodriguez took the ball looking to save Estrada's victory. It took him 20 pitches, but he retired the Bucs in order.
The Pirates weren't very good at baseball tonight. They got ahead in counts, especially against Estrada, and then couldn't take advantage, going 1-for-9 with RISP. The fielding wasn't sharp, and Cole had a shaky outing. Add it all up, and it comes to a 5-2 loss.
Francisco Liriano will face Wily Peralta tomorrow night.
- Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez both left the game for the Brewers. Gomez had back tightness; Braun may have just been getting a blow.
- Jason Grilli will throw a simulated game Wednesday at Miller Park.
2 comments:
Cole hasn't been as good this year as he was down the stretch in 2014. He's still young, of course, and the league now has a "book" on him, but....I'm not seeing ace / top of the rotation from him overall. He looks more to me like a good number two starter. Nothing wrong with that, just sayin'.
I'm hoping he doesn't get Charlie Morton-itis, Will. He's got the stuff for a top end guy, but he hasn't hit on the mix yet. Cole's still a little fastball heavy, I think. And you're right; the book is out, and the cat-and-mouse is what separates the good ones from the run of the mill.
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