After snapping a six-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for another victory when they host the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday evening in the second game of a four-game series.
The Pirates haven’t won consecutive games since taking three in a row from April 6-8, and they are 3-9 since that run. Their 4-2 victory in the series opener on Monday marked only the fifth time through 23 games that Pittsburgh held its opponent to two runs or less.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz helped fuel the win, going 3-for-4 with a double and a two-run single. Cruz had been hitless in his three previous games and had just two hits over his past seven games.
It was his second three-hit game of the season, with the other coming April 5 in the Pirates’ home opener.
“It feels really good to just be able to hit that ball and drive in two runs,” Cruz said through a translator. “Every run counts, and with that, sometimes we avoid going to extra innings, and I think that’s what happened there. It’s always good to get extra runs.”
Bailey Falter (1-1, 4.05 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The left-hander has bounced back after allowing six runs in four innings during his season debut on March 31. He has given up just three runs on nine hits in 16 innings over his past three starts.
Falter has no decisions and a 1.17 ERA in two career appearances (one start) vs. the Brewers. Both outings were last year.
The Brewers will look to rebound after their four-game winning streak ended on Monday. They will do so as injuries to the pitching corps continue to pile up. Milwaukee has not announced a starter for Tuesday’s game.
Left-hander Wade Miley was the expected starter, but he landed on the 15-day injured list on Monday due to left elbow inflammation. The 37-year-old veteran started the season on the injured list because of a left shoulder impingement and returned to make two starts, most recently last Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, when he allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits in three innings.
He felt irritation in his elbow after his first start in Cincinnati on April 10 but felt he was good enough to go against San Diego. He is scheduled to undergo imaging on Tuesday.
Milwaukee right-hander Jakob Junis was on the road to recovery from a right shoulder impingement before he was struck in the neck by a line drive during batting practice on Monday. He was alert and responsive when he was taken to a local hospital for observation.
The Brewers’ injured list also includes Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder surgery), DL Hall (left knee sprain), J.B. Bukauskas (right shoulder inflammation), Taylor Clarke (right knee meniscus tear) and Devin Williams (stress fracture in back).
“It seems like we really haven’t had the best of luck with pitching injuries,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
Milwaukee called up Tobias Myers from Triple-A Nashville to take Miley’s roster sport. Myers, a 25-year-old right-hander who was a sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2016 draft, could make his major league debut on Tuesday. He was 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA in four games (three starts) for Nashville this season.
Murphy turned to his bullpen on Monday after starter Joe Ross tossed 79 pitches in 5 1/3 innings. With all of the Brewers’ injury woes, Murphy said he won’t hesitate to call upon his relief pitchers as needed.
“It’s always what’s best for the pitcher,” Murphy said. “Squeezing more out of somebody this early in the season is not something we like to do.”
–Field Level Media
