Pirates Roar Back, But Brewers Hold On To Take It In 10 Innings, 7-6

Steven Brault was tapped for a leadoff knock, then put down the next three Brewers to put up a zero although a tapper and passed ball left the runner at third. Starling drew a two-out walk off Zach Davies and that was it. A leadoff walk/stolen base but the Brew Crew in business, but Steven kept him a second. Redbeard  and Corey D opened with raps. Two outs later, Steven beat out an infield knock that was knocked down by SS Orlando Arcia to save a run. Lorenzo Cain saved three more when he made a brilliant catch of Fraze's liner; great glovework saved Davies' bacon this inning. The third was 1-2-3; Bryan Reynolds repaid Cain in part with a sliding grab of his fly between a pair of K's. Reynolds opened with a knock, but an out later, a strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP with J-Bell up ended the frame. The Brew Crew started the fourth with a two-bagger and a hopper moved the runner up. A whiff froze him, but Jesus Aguilar's two-out single plated the first run. Colin Moran whiffed after hitting two loud fouls out of the yard, the first by a few feet and the second being close enough for a review. The rest of the inning was uneventful.

And another guy with an achy wing - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

The fifth began with a walk, the fourth time tonight the leadoff runner reached. And more good news; Steven left the game rubbing his left shoulder, with nobody loose in the pen. Michael Feliz came on and worked out if it. The Pirates went down 1-2-3. Ric Rod got the sixth, and was touched for a gently tapped infield single with one gone but K'ed his way back to the dugout. Matt Albers replaced Davies. J-Bell broke an 0-22 streak against the Brewers with a two-out rap and was left standing. Frankie Liriano took the hill in the seventh and was greeted by an Arcia dinger, then a double. A walk followed an out later before a 6-4-3 stopped the Brew Crew. Jeremy Jeffress answered the bell. With two away, Eli got aboard on a misplayed fly and Melky walked on four pitches. Fraze rolled an 0-2 heater into center to put the Bucs on the board, and Josh Hader was beckoned.  He bopped Reynolds  on a 1-2 pitch in the hand as he covered his noggin; he shook it off and then Craig Counsell came out to beef, apparently arguing for a foul or something. Either way, no diff; Starling popped out.

And three more hits outta this guy - image Pirates calendar

Dovy Neverauskas toed the slab in the eighth and Aguilar took him deep with a runner aboard; Manny Pina did the same and it's now 6-1. That was followed by a double and intentional walk before the flames finally flickered out. J-Bell took a walk to begin the frame with no more noise made by the Pirates. Chris Stratton, who just worked three innings yesterday, answered the bell for the ninth and tossed a clean frame. Deolis Guerra took over from Hader and Melky banged a single with an out, as did Fraze and Jake Stallings to jam the sacks. Starling hit a sac fly and J-Bell hit a bomb to make it 6-5. Junior Guerra was rushed in, and holy moly, Jung Ho Kang lost the baseball on his first pitch to knot the score, and on to bonus baseball. Felipe got the 10th inning call and gave up three straight one-out singles (two were soft but well placed) to produce a run; we're guessing he didn't have much time to warm up. He escaped with just that one run. The Pirates got two aboard on singles by Eli and Fraze; it would have been interesting if Melky hadn't drilled an at 'em ball to Cain in between. With two away, it was up to Big Joe, pinch hitting for Felipe. He K'ed, not being able to catch up to 95 MPH heat.

The power stroke is back - photo Dan Kubis/Pirates

It was a pretty wild, see-saw game, but a couple things stand out: Clint's chaotic bullpen use is baffling, and is doubly quirky in the late innings of tight games at home. The key move of the night may not have been Cain's bases-loaded grab of a gapper, but instead Counsell getting four outs from Hader and Clint getting four runs charged to Dovy. The four man bench is a sore spot every so often, too. If the pitching ever solidified, maybe the Bucs could go back to seven relievers, though it looks like the rotation is gonna be a season-long issue in that regard. And finally, these guys are gamers - they never mail a contest in.

We'll see what's up with Steven's arm; with the AS break, his injury won't come into play until the 16th, so if it's minor, the rotation can bear it with just a little juggling. Lotta pressure on young Dario Agrazal tomorrow; the Pirates could really stand to take this series.

Notes:

• Fraze had three hits and J-Bell a pair.
• Steven Brault has a six-game hitting streak and hasn't had more than two at-bats in any of the half-dozen games.
• Tomorrow the Pirates will recall Dario Agrazal from Indy and place Trevor Williams on the Paternity List.
• Attendance was 23,229.
• Chris Yelich is in the All Star HR Derby and took a practice round this afternoon at PNC Park. He hit one into the Allegheny, and the ball broke the window of a boat moored outside the yard. The owner called the police, but even Pittsburgh's hometown thin blue line couldn't find a reason to lock him up. Actually, we're guessing the call was so the owner could file a report to open an insurance claim. 
• RHP James Marvel, making his first start since being promoted from Altoona, threw a three-hit shutout in a seven-inning game for Indy (AAA twin bills are two seven-inning games) to claim a 3-0 win over Toledo.
• IF Nick Franklin, recently released by Indy, has signed with the Angels and will report to their AAA Salt Lake club.