Clay & Five Homers Carry Bucs To Twin Bill Sweep 6-2

The Brewers got a double off Clay Holmes but created no scoreboard damage while the Bucs went quietly against Brent Suter. The second was clean; Holmes has a much better idea of the strike zone so far. J-Bell walked with an out for all the Pirates hubbub. In the third, Milwaukee opened with a knock off J-Hay's glove. Clay came back with an around-the-horn DP and whiff. Mad Max turned mighty by opening the scoring with a long ball in an otherwise meek frame. The Brew Crew got a knock in the fourth and nada else; ditto for the Pirates. The Brewski Bunch worked a fifth-inning leadoff walk but could only move the runner to second. The Corsairs went in order. Milwaukee drew a walk with one away in the sixth on a barely held check swing, followed an out later by a rap. Clay got away with a two-strike down Broadway heater (it was a 96 MPH sinker) that Tyler Saladino couldn't catch to stop the music.

Clay had quite the bounce-back game today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Jeremy Jeffress took the ball. Starling smacked a ground rule double the oppo way with an out. Lorenzo Cain ran down Gregory's shot to center, although it moved Marte up 90'. He touched home when Freeser bounced a ball up the middle. Tyler Glasnow stepped on the rubber in the seventh, after Clay had given up four hits, two walks and fanned six after 82 pitches. Ty walked the first batter and then gave up a single, but the Brewers helped by getting the lead runner thrown out at third by J-Low on a head-scratching TOOTBLAN (they challenged; no luck). Hernan Perez then stole second before the next pair went down swinging. Dan Jennings scaled the slope and Jordan Luplow sent his third pitch into the shrubbery. Red Beard walked with two away but didn't cause any trouble.

The Brewers opened the eighth with an infield single that ticked off J-Hay's glove. That was followed by a whiff and a pair of full-count walks, bringing on Michael Feliz for Ty. Michael, who like Glasnow been up-and-down, was the right man for this spot, getting a short fly and a whiff to put up another zero. Aaron Wilkerson spun for Milwaukee and Starling planted an 0-2 curve into the stands; Gregory did the same with a 1-2 slider; both were pretty much meatballs. J-Low joined the fun with two gone, banging an 0-1 fastball into the seats, again delivered down the middle. His first went 417'; this one traveled 441', and those kind of launches are why the Pirates are giving him a look. But nothing is ever easy; Feliz opened the ninth giving up a knock and a walk. After a K, a pop dropped in short center to load the sacks. After another K, a flare into center chased home two Brewers and brought Felipe Vazquez on; he got a three-pitch whiff to close the book. RTJR!

Jordan Luplow had a big day, too (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• Starling, Freeser and J-Low had two hits in the nightcap.
• Marte, El Coffee and Luplow each had two homers in today's double dipper. Maxie added another, and though they were all solo shots, seven long flies are tough to overcome. Starling & Gregory became the third duo in MLB history to hit back-to-back homers in both games of a doubleheader. The others: Pittsburgh's Frank Thomas & Dick Groat on 7/7/1957, and Oakland's Sal Bando & Reggie Jackson on 7/7/1968 per Stats on STATS.
• Pirates pitchers struck out 21 Brewers today: eight in the lidlifter and 13 more in game two.
• The twin bill drew 24,474.