MILWAUKEE — Whenever the Pirates inevitably review what went right or wrong during Friday’s series opener in Milwaukee, here’s guessing starter Rich Hill won’t need more than a millisecond to figure out the problem.
It was the walks. Four in the first inning, six total for Hill, his most since 2017.
Although the Pirates made a late charge, trimming the Brewers’ deficit to one, they ultimately suffered another loss, this time by a 5-4 score at American Family Field. Pittsburgh has now lost four in a row and five of its last six.
The same as other points this season, there really hasn’t been one consistent theme. Sometimes the offense lacks. In Chicago, the bullpen imploded. A couple times, really. On Friday, it was most definitely a lack of control from Hill.
Was it the result of the 119 pitches he threw his last time out? Doubtful anyone will ever admit that, and he did sharpen as the game went on. It was just the lack of strike-throwing in the first inning that gave the Brewers far too much with which to work.
After initially walking the first batter of the game, first baseman Owen Miller, it looked like Hill might enjoy an easy start thanks to a double play started by Ke’Bryan Hayes.
But an inability to consistently find the strike zone resulted in a 36-pitch opening frame and the Brewers snagging a 3-0 lead.
Hill walked the next two hitters before Austin Hedges was called yet again for catcher’s interference, loading the bases. A walk to designated hitter Brian Anderson forced in a run and gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. Right fielder Blake Perkins extended it to 3-0 with his single off Hill.
The left-hander left a curveball in the middle of the plate, and Perkins lined it sharply into center. Carlos Santana’s sixth homer of the season gave the Pirates some life in the second inning, but the Brewers got the run back thanks to a couple more Hill walks in the fourth.
With two aboard, catcher William Contreras waited on another curveball from Hill and smacked a double to right, over the head of Josh Palacios, to make it a 4-1 game.
The Pirates sliced their deficit to 4-2 in the sixth, scoring a run thanks to Ji Hwan Bae’s incredible speed. Bae drew a leadoff walk, picked up his 20th steal of the season and scored without a throw on a sacrifice fly to center.
Carmen Mlodzinski gave up a homer while making his MLB debut in the bottom half of the sixth before the Pirates rallied for two more in the top of the seventh.
Having hit safely in 11 of 13 prior to Friday and batting .407 with a 1.056 OPS since May 31 — the average ranking third in MLB during that time — Hayes came through with a clutch two-run single.
Hayes found a sinker over the middle of the plate and shot a ball to second base that ticked off Andruw Monasterio’s glove to bring the Pirates to within one at 5-4.
The Pirates did threaten in the ninth. But Hayes was called out on strikes with two on, and Jason Delay struck out with the bases loaded to end it.
ON THE MOUND
His MLB debut included one loud bang that Mlodzinski probably won’t want to remember, but all things considered, he showed flashes of why the Pirates selected his contract earlier in the day.
The right-hander reached back and found 97.7 mph with his four-seamer while working the sixth inning. He also showcased an impressive sweeper that Pirates manager Derek Shelton said the team really liked.
Facing Brewers center fielder Joey Wiemer, Mlodzinski missed his mark with a heater and paid the price. Wiemer drove it the other way, into the Pirates bullpen, for a 5-2 Milwaukee lead.
On the flip side, Mlodzinski froze right fielder Blake Perkins with a fastball and got first baseman Owen Miller to swing through the same pitch for his second strikeout.
AT THE PLATE
A familiar face in a new place stymied the Pirates, the same as Julio Teheran did for much of his career with the Braves. But after pitching last season in the Atlantic League and Mexican League, the right-hander has caught on with the Brewers.
This was Teheran’s fifth MLB start, and he has become an incredible story, pitching to a 1.78 ERA in those games. The Pirates managed just two earned runs in six innings off Teheran, who improved to 6-1 lifetime against them with a 2.36 ERA.
The first run came courtesy of Santana, whose solo home run in the second inning cut the Brewers’ lead to 3-1. Santana got a sinker down and in and knocked it over the right-field fence for his third homer in his past seven games.
UP NEXT
Mitch Keller gets the ball for the second game of this series. He has a 3.98 ERA in four career starts against Milwaukee.
