Brewers Thunder With Two Outs, Storm Past Pirates 7-1

Today's Game: Bryan Reynolds bounced a two-out knock against Brett Anderson for all the Bucco first-inning noise. Trevor Cahill gave up an infield single followed by a steal, and a two-out, broken bat flare was the first of five straight hits plus a Tony Alford bobble that chased home five Brewers before the fire was put out. The Bucs grounded out to third, short and second during their turn. Milwaukee kept at it with a leadoff triple followed by a double, grounder and sac fly to make it 7-0. Alford opened with a walk in the third; a bunt and two K ended the frame quietly. The Crew went without a peep; Cahill racked up his third and fourth whiffs. The Pirates manufactured a run in the fourth: B-Rey singled off a glove, moved to third on a passed ball and grounder and scored on a Brewer error. Milwaukee went quietly.

Tony Alford reached twice tonight - photo Gene Puskar/AP

In the fifth, the Pirates managed a pair of knocks, but a DP in between killed the inning. Sean Poppen made his Bucco debut as Cahill was at 87 pitches. A one-down bopped batter and single put him in a jam, but he escaped via a 4-3 DP. A sixth inning air ball by the Brewers led to nothing. Neither did their two-out single, left stranded by a Poppen whiff. The Pirates opened the seventh with back-to-back raps, but three flies kept them anchored at bay. Clay Holmes climbed the hill and gave up a single in an otherwise calm frame. The Pirates opened against Eric Yardley in the eighth by reaching on Luis Urias' third throwing error of the night, but refused the gift. Holmes fanned two Brewers in their half. Drew Rasmussen answered the ninth-inning bell. Alford singled with two gone before Rasmussen wrapped it up.

Pitching is the name of the game, and the Brewers turned the tables on Pittsburgh tonight. The rubber match is on for tomorrow afternoon.

Notes:

• Bryan Reynolds and Adam Frazier each collected two hits; Anthony Alford singled and walked.
• Jerry Meals was behind the plate, and robo-umps around the baseball world rejoiced as he helped advance their case with his floating strike zone.

Tomorrow's Game: The Sunday getaway game starts at 2:10 and will be on AT&T SportsNet PITT2 channel and 93.7 The Fan. Chad Kuhl tackles Freddy Peralta in the series-deciding finale.