Bullpen Blows Up Late; Walks & Two-Out Knocks Give Brew Crew a 5-3 Win

The Bucs went quietly against Jhoulys Chacin; the Brew Crew opened with a single and got nada more off Jamison Taillon. Pittsburgh drew an opening walk in the second and nothing else. The Brewers had two runners on with an out via a pair of soft hits, but a timely 4-6-3 DP cleaned it up. Fraze and Gregory got a knock and a walk with two out in the third, but Starling couldn't keep the party going. Milwaukee had runners on the corners with an out, but the bacon was saved when a pop to short right was hauled in by Fraze, who then tossed out a tagging Lorenzo Cain to keep it at zeroes. The Buccaneers went without a peep in the fourth; the Brew Crew turned a walk and double into the game's first run. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3 in the fifth, as did Milwaukee. Fraze & Gregory opened with knocks to put runners at first and third, and Starling came through with a tying sac fly. El Coffee swiped second but stayed put. Edgar Santana got the ball - Jamo was laboring and at 85 pitches - and sat the Brewers down.

Jamo looked close to his old self today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Jeremy Jeffress toed the slab in the seventh and Cervy worked him for an opening walk. A force and wild pitch moved pinch runner Cool Chad to second where he died. Kyle Crick answered the bell - two walks, a wild pitch and a two-out knock gave the Brew Crew the lead and a passed ball gave them an insurance run. Another walk and wild pitch left Brewers at the corners and brought Steven Brault to the hill to close it down. Josh Hader claimed the mound and struck out the side in the eighth, but in between the K-Fest he walked Gregory and surrendered a game-tying bomb to Starling. George Kontos was banged for a leadoff two-bagger; two outs later, a walk to .105 hitter Eric Sogard left Brewskis at first and third. That brought up Ryan Braun, who doubled home a pair off a center-cut slider. Kontos had been playing with fire; a meatball cutter served two pitches earlier was swung through. Hader had a drama free ninth, save a snap-out by Amore over a called third strike - ump Jeff Kellogg was not having a good day for either side with his calls - and had to be dragged back to the dugout by Clint. So it's back to the ballyard tomorrow for the rubber match.

The Bucs bullpen usage again has to be questioned; Kontos is showing himself to be a middle-guy, not a high-leverage performer, and to use Santana in the sixth after a short start by Jamo, who may have had an inning left in him, while sitting Richard Rodriguez & Michael Feliz for Crick, well... The big hurt was the inability to hit Chacin, who wasn't dazzling today (or most days). Still, the series is the thing, and that will be decided tomorrow afternoon.

Notes:

• Fraze had two of the four Pirates hits; Gregory had a knock, walked twice and drove in all three runs.
• In his pre-game presser, Clint said Nick Kingham's status is still TBD; they plan to reach a decision during the Monday off-day.