Nine In A Row - Bucs Fall 4-3

Brandon Woodruff tossed a 1-2-3 first. Willy lost the first two Brewers on 10 pitches, but came back to fan the last pair and post an opening zero. Nada for Pittsburgh in the second. Milwaukee got a two-out solo shot from Orlando Arcia to take the early lead. Woodruff was pinch hit for (it's his second game back from the IL; the Brew Crew has used him as an opener in both games), and another knock was added before the frame ended. Jay Jackson worked the third and struck the side out swinging. Trevor spun a clean third. It was another quiet frame for the Bucs in the fourth with Gio Gonzalez now on the hill; Eric Thames banged a leadoff long ball for Milwaukee to make it 2-0. There wasn't a ball hit out of the infield by either club in the fifth. No noise from the Pirates in the sixth, and Michael Feliz claimed the bump. He gave up a single and a second Thames dinger as the gap grew to four runs.

Willy gave the Bucs a short but solid start; it didn't help - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

A one-out single in the seventh by B-Rey broke up the perfecto (a soft liner that ticked off Arcia's mitt) and brought on Drew Pomeranz, who quickly sat the Bucs down. Clay Holmes took the ball. The Brewers got two knocks and a walk to open, but a whiff and 4-6-3 DP kept the score 4-0. Freddy Peralta got two outs in the eighth, then Stalls singled and Erik Gonzalez legged out a roller. Melky slapped a bouncer to short; Arcia muffed it, allowing a run to score and leaving Bucs at second and third. Josh Hader was called on, and Tuck banged a two-run rap to make it 4-3. Roc Rod got the call, and allowed one runner to reach, on catcher's interference. Hader removed any iffy glovework from the equation to earn his four-out save; he struck out the side in the ninth.

The Brewers couldn't even gift the game to the Pirates; nobody has stepped up since Starling and J-Bell have gone down. Michael Feliz, who went seven straight outings scorelessly, has now given up three homers and four runs in his last three innings. Oh well, six to go...

Notes:

• Elias Diaz hurt his right knee Saturday; that leaves Jake Stallings and Steven Baron (who caught last night after Eli went down; Stalls is back in action today) as the catching corps. Kevin Newman is also off; Clint decided to give him a day of rest after a pair of 0-fers.
• Pittsburgh has been swept in three consecutive series, lost nine straight games while being outscored 87-26, is 21-46 since the All-Star Break, 65-91 overall, and going through their first 90 loss season since 2011 (72-90). Until yesterday, that was the only 90-loss campaign for Clint with the Pirates.
• The Buccos pitching staff has given up 10+ runs in a game 31 times this season, more than any team since the 1999 Rockies.
• The Pirates close out the campaign in Pittsburgh starting Tuesday with three games against the Cubs and a final series v the Reds.