Bucs Quiet Brewer Bats, Starling Clutch In 3-0 Win To Even Series - Other News: Big Joe Done For the Year

After a whiff, Kevin Newman ruined a 10-pitch battle between Willy and Christian Yelich by throwing away his grounder but caused no damage to the scoreboard. After Fraze lined an at 'em ball to Yelich in center, Starling walked against Zach Davies. A wild pitch moved Marte up, then he was caught trying to steal third, with a tapper ending the frame. A single, punch out and strike 'em out, throw 'em DP made up the Brew Crew second. Corey D opened with a single; J-Low bounced into a 4-6-3 DP on the next pitch followed by a whiff; hope its not another of those days. Milwaukee left a Davies knock and Yelich walk aboard in the third. The Bucs got a two-out infield knock by Trevor. Fraze banged out a rap and Starling doubled the pair home. He went to third on the throw home, but J-Bell couldn't cash him in. There was no Brewski noise in the fourth; ditto for the Pirates. A leadoff single in the fifth was countered by a whiff and 4-6-3 DP. Brandon Woodruff came on to hurl. Stalls walked with an out; he was sent to third on a two-out single by Fraze after Willy couldn't bunt him along. Starling was bopped on a 1-2 pitch on the hand to pack the sacks, staying in after a check by the trainers, but J-Bell's fly left 'em loaded.

Willy is a baddd man... (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

In the sixth, Ryan Braun dropped a two-out bunt single (who'd thunk it?) to set up Travis Shaw. No sweat; Willy fanned him. Xavier Cedeno was waved on and red hot Corey D started it up with a single. A wild toss got him second. After an out, Joey O came to pinch hit and the Brewers answered with Taylor Williams; Clint flipped Osuna for Colin Moran. He singled off the pitcher's glove to put Bucs on the corners. K-Man fanned and Stalls bounced out. It was another opportunity lost; the Pirates have stranded five in the past two frames. Ric Rod got the seventh inning job and sailed through it on eight pitches. Joakim Soria took the hill and Ryan Lavarnway greeted him with a knock. A pop and Marte 6-4-3 DP quickly ended the frame. Kyle Crick was beckoned in the eighth and was sharp, getting two whiffs & a roller in front of the plate. Lefty Dan Jennings took the ball and J-Bell led off with a single. After a force, righty Jacob Barnes came on to face J-Low, who walked. Red Beard singled the opp way on a 3-2 heater to plate a third run. Newman fanned for the second time with a runner on third and one out. The Bucs tried a delayed double steal; it didn't work as J-Low was tossed out by a mile. Felipe Vazquez entered for the close; Yelich said "hi" with an opening double. The Nightmare waved back and cruised out with a bouncer & two strikeouts for his 36th save. RTJR.

Notes:

• The Pirates announced that Joe Musgrove was diagnosed with a stress reaction (a microfracture, as best we can figure) on the front of his pelvic bone and an abdominal wall muscle strain. The injuries call for six weeks of rest before he can start his offseason work routine. Nick Kingham will pick up tomorrow's start. Geez, Bucco pitchers are dropping like flies...

J-Grove is done for the year (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Fraze, Corey D and Colin Moran each had a pair of knocks; Starling's two-out, two-run double was the telling blow. It was Pittsburgh's only extra-base hit.
• There were 23,070 at the ballyard tonight.
• This was Willy's 10th shutout start of six+ innings this year, and he has an ERA of 1.00 over his last 12 outings. Tonight, he put up six zeros on four hits with a walk and seven K after 95 pitches.
• Starling is fourth in MLB with 33 stolen bases; he leads the majors in caught stealings with 14.
• Jordan Luplow has hit into six GIDP in 33 at bats with runners on first; he has three hits in that time.
• Rough transition: In his last 18 at bats, Kevin Kramer has one hit and 13! strikeouts.
• Kinda Figuring It Out: In his last 11 games, Kevin Newman is 10-of-40.