*Photo from AP News*
This week, there has been a lot of jolly roger raising in Pittsburgh. Bryan Reynolds drove in the game tying run, then scored the game winning run, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday afternoon.
The Pirates had a relatively quiet trade deadline, only making minor transactions outside of dealing Jose Quintana to the St. Louis Cardinals. They had a couple plays go their way on Thursday, propelling another comeback win for the Pirates, who have won 3 straight games and secured a sweep of the Brewers, their second sweep of the season.
Pirates infielder Michael Chavis said of the sweep that "It says a lot about this team and how close we are to really being contenders. We’ve got some impactful players. You catch us on the right day and things are going to kind of fall into place."
The winning streak for the Pirates is more impressive when you consider that, prior to this series, they had lost 7 straight games and fallen to last in the NL Central. Now, they've jumped up to 3rd place, and snapped a 6 game losing streak in extra inning games for the Pirates.
Greg Allen got the Pirates on the board, scoring on a passed ball to put the Pirates ahead 1-0. Shortly following that, Victor Caratini got the Brewers on the board with a 3rd inning solo home run to tie it 1-1. In the 5th inning, Mike Brosseau gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead, hitting a two run home run to right field.
When the 7th inning came around, Tucupita Marcano singled to left field, bringing home Allen to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jason Delay then came around to score on a single from Ben Gamel to tie the game 3-3. It stayed that way until the 10th, when Kolten Wong was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring a run to put the Brewers ahead 4-3. Marcano scored in the bottom of the inning on a Reynolds double, and then Reynolds scored on a wild pitch to give the Pirates a walk off 5-4 win.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the Reynolds double that "He just missed hitting another homer. Got a ball on the barrel. I think it shows the caliber of hitter he is, because he kept a curveball fair. Off the bat, I think he even thought it was going to hook and it just stayed true, which, you have to be a good hitter for that to happen."
It was Zach Thompson who got the start for the Pirates, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and one walk, pitching 4 1/3 innings. Eric Stout came on in relief and pitched 1 2/3 innings, followed by appearances from Yohan Ramirez, Colin Holderman, and Duane Underwood Jr, with Underwood getting the win.
Newcomer Matt Bush blew the save and got the loss for the Brewers in the 10th, only getting one out. Brandon Woodruff started and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched. Brad Boxberger finished the 7th inning, with Hoby Milner and Devin Williams also throwing an inning each.
Woodruff said of what has become a 4 game losing streak that "When you come to the baseball field, regardless of who is in this room, this is our team and we’ve got a dang good team. We’re here for each other, we’re going to play for each other and we can’t do anything about it other than going out and doing our job."
Up next, the Pirates head to Baltimore to take on the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, with Mitch Keller getting the start. Eric Lauer starts for the Brewers as they host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
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