Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers: What to Expect
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not had an easy go of things lately as they are in the midst of a stretch of 13 straight games against National League Central opponents. It began on August 2nd when the Pirates opened a series on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers. During the stretch, they have gone just 1-9, and have dropped each of their last eight games. It has been a combination of faulty pitching, hitting, and relief for the Pirates that has led to an all-around bad brand of baseball. They currently sit 33 games below .500, with a record of 41-74, and are looking to put a stop to this losing streak. However, things aren't set to get any easier for the Pirates, as they continue this NL Central stretch by welcoming in the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game weekend set.
The Brewers are the team that started this stretch of bad baseball when they took two of three from the Pirates back on August 2nd through the 4th. As a team, the Pirates only have one win in the month of August and are 2-10 since the 2021 MLB Trade Deadline. The team got a lot younger after trading away guys like Adam Frazier, Clay Holmes, and Tyler Anderson, and the young guys are still acclimating to their new Big League roles. Because of this, we have seen growing pains all over the field, and while the results in the win-loss column may not be what the Pirates want, these players are still making progress on the field. Today, we look at what to expect as the Pirates try to turn things around against the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
What Happened Last Time
The last time these two teams met, things didn't go well for the Pirates as usually is the case at American Family Field. The Pirates dropped two of the three games in the series and were outscored by the Brewers 15-12, and two of the three games were really competitive. In the first game of the series, Bryse Wilson made his Pirates debut and pitched well allowing one earned run in five innings. However, middle relief killed the Pirates, as it has all season, and allowed a three-run home run that sealed the Pirate's fate. Gregory Polanco was the hero in game two, robbing a home run in the bottom of the 9th and driving in the winning run in the top of the 10th as the Pirates won 8-5. Then, the Pirates dropped the finale 4-2 after Steven Brault returned from the IL, and made a solid start.
Two of the newest additions to the Brewers have been the biggest Pirate killers in Willy Adames and Eduardo Escobar. Escobar has been a Pirates killer no matter if he is playing for the Brewers or the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his two series against the Pirates this season, Escobar is hitting a combined .333 with two home runs, one double, one triple, and eight RBI. Plus, over his last seven games, he is tearing the cover off the ball hitting .387 with an RBI. The All-Star third baseman has been a welcome addition to the top of the Brewers lineup and has been killing the Pirates. Adames has had similar luck against the Pirates, hitting .288 with two home runs and four RBI, and he is also hitting .308 over his last seven games. The Pirates will have to shut these two bats down if they want to have success in this series.
Consistency is Key
The big thing for the Pirates this season has been a real lack of consistency all around. One week, a player will be on fire and look unstoppable, but then the next week he looks completely lost at the plate. For example, when John Nogowski first came to the Pirates, he set the team on fire. He tied the record for most hits in his first ten games as a Pirate and had his batting average as high as .345 on July 17th. However, since then, he has fallen off the face of the earth, hitting a measly .074 in the month of August, and went from future piece to possible DFA candidate. This has seemingly been a problem for a lot of Pirates making the move from Triple-A to the Majors and has been costing this team.
Recently, I have been watching a lot of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and one thing Gordon Ramsay preaches on that show is consistency. It feels like I'm watching the Pirates go through the first dinner service of that show when all the chefs are obviously good chefs, they just completely go blank. Every player on the field for the Pirates is obviously really good at baseball, or they wouldn't be in professional ball. However, it seems like the pressure is too much for them, and they end up squandering their opportunities. If they don't get it together and put together consistent performances, it may soon be time for them to simply get out!
Back to Fundamentals
In the beginning of the season, one thing the Pirates emphasized was fundamentals had playing the game the right way. This focus worked as the Pirates defense was ranked in the top 10 of the league for a majority of the season. However, as the season has gone on, you have seen the team start to veer away from these fundamentals. Kevin Newman, who started the year with 77 straight games without committing an error and is considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, made a play last night that was unbelievable. As a ground all was chopped toward Wilmer Difo at second, it was set up for a double play. However, there was confusion on the field as Newman did not cover second base. It was a play that ultimately cost the Pirates as the runner on second came around to score in what was a 7-6 loss for the Pirates.
When you play the small ball brand of baseball that the Pirates like to play, you can't afford to make little mistakes like that. Had it not been for that play, Bryan Reynold's three-run ninth inning home run would have been the game winner. But, defense ended up letting down the Pirates once again and turned what could have been a streak-stoppng win into the eighth straight loss for the Pirates. Being that they don't have a lot of power, the Pirates have to manufacture runs, which takes time. When they throw away runs on the fieldime that, it makes it that much harder for them to scratch and crawl their way to wins. Fundamentals are key, and the Pirates have to find a way to get back to fundamentally sound baseball.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (41-74) open their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers (70-46) tonight at 7:05 pm at PNC Park. Mitch Keller (3-9, 7.06) will be on the mound for the Pirates against Brett Anderson (4-5, 3.54) for the Brewers.
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