Bucs' bats caught in slumber vs. Crew

MILWAUKEE -- For the better part of two months, the Pirates’ lineup has propped up an unstable pitching staff. Those roles reversed at an unfortunate time as they began the most important stretch of their season this weekend.

After a 2-1 loss Sunday afternoon at Miller Park, the Bucs headed home following a series defeat against the Brewers with a little more ground to cover if they want to climb back into the National League Central race before the July 31 Trade Deadline.

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Their pitching wasn’t a problem during a 3-3 road trip through Houston and Milwaukee. They held both the Astros’ loaded lineup and the Brewers’ powerful crew to seven runs in three games. But after pounding Houston for 25 runs, Pittsburgh scratched out only five runs in Milwaukee -- including one against starter Brandon Woodruff on Saturday and one against starter Zach Davies in the series finale.

“We got one run the last two games. They’re more than a hitting team,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Those two starters can pitch a little bit. Their bullpen has done a nice job of using everybody in different roles. They made pitches today. They kept us off-balance.”

The Pirates jumped out to an early lead with a two-out rally in the first inning. Starling Marte singled, Josh Bell walked and then Melky Cabrera ripped an RBI double to right field. It looked like the rally might continue when Colin Moran sliced a line drive to left-center field off Davies, but Lorenzo Cain chased it down to end the inning.

"It was a very good pitching weekend for us. Very good defensive weekend for us,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Credit to our guys.”

Davies settled down after that, and the Pirates didn’t put another runner in scoring position the rest of the game.

“They follow their scouting reports really well,” Bell said. “Davies and the rest of their bullpen came in and commanded their attack plan and made pitches in big spots. You’ve just got to tip your cap sometimes.”

Left-hander Steven Brault kept Milwaukee off the board until the fourth, but the Brewers found ways to run up his pitch count before finally breaking through with an unlikely big hit. Mike Moustakas led off the fourth with a double to center, then Brault struck out Keston Hiura and Jesus Aguilar. The Pirates intentionally walked Manny Pina to bring up Davies, the .097-hitting starting pitcher. Brault fell behind in the count, then Davies lined a game-tying RBI single to center.

“If you don’t get behind him, he can’t take the same swing,” Brault said. “No matter who’s up at the plate, you’ve got to execute your pitches. I didn’t execute that one. If that’s the only damage that I’m giving up, that’s OK. Just need to be more efficient.”

That was the only run Brault allowed in 4 2/3 innings, giving him a 2.01 ERA over his last six starts. He exited with two outs and runners on second and third in the fifth, and Richard Rodriguez needed only two pitches to escape the inning.

Francisco Liriano pulled off an even more impressive escape act in the sixth inning. The veteran left-handed came on in relief of Rodriguez with the bases loaded and two outs to face Christian Yelich. The reigning National League MVP worked a full count before swinging at Liriano’s seventh pitch, a slider that dipped below Yelich’s bat.

“That was a big out, there’s no doubt about it,” Hurdle said. “You get that cat up there with the bases loaded, then to run it to 3-2 and get a foul ball and still get a swing and miss? It was a job well done by Francisco.”

Pittsburgh’s bullpen only allowed one run in 10 1/3 innings during the series. The lone run came in the eighth, when Eric Thames launched a leadoff homer off setup man Kyle Crick. Thames, who tripled and homered against Jordan Lyles on Saturday, swatted a 94.1-mph fastball to straightaway center field.

“He’s hit pitches in spots we really don’t want to get them into,” Hurdle said. “He’s got some hot spots, and he’s got some spots you need to go to to try to get him out. We haven’t gotten the ball in those spots.”

The Pirates, now 39-43 on the year, have lost back-to-back games for the first time since dropping seven in a row from June 7-13. They’re five games behind the division-leading Cubs and Brewers. They’re also still confident that, with their pitching coming along, they’ll start firing on all cylinders soon.

“I feel like we’re primed. We’re getting guys back. A lot of our starters are showing what they can do,” Bell said. “A couple months ago, we didn’t know what was going on. But it seems like we’ve got four or five guys now that are competing to be the No. 1 guy. It’s awesome to watch. It’s awesome to play behind. Definitely momentum pushing forward for the next half.”