The Milwaukee Brewers, who will open a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Friday night, are catching the Pirates in a much different set of circumstances than existed entering the teams’ previous matchup.
Pittsburgh had just been swept by the Chicago Cubs and had lost six of eight upon arrival in Milwaukee on June 16. The Brewers swept the Pirates in three games by a combined 15-6.
Pittsburgh’s losing streak reached 10, but now the Pirates have won four of six and are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres.
The Pirates struggled in several areas during their tough stretch, but they found their offense against the Padres, totaling 21 runs in the three games.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton believes his team doesn’t have to wallop the ball to succeed: “Just continuing to move the ball forward,” he said.
A Pirates trend continued against San Diego, with the club receiving key contributions from three freshly recalled rookies: right fielder Henry Davis, shortstop Nick Gonzales and third baseman Jared Triolo.
They went a combined 13-for-29 (.448) with eight RBIs and seven runs vs. the Padres.
Davis, who has the longest tenure among the trio at 10 games, has a seven-game hitting streak. He was matter-of-fact about Pittsburgh’s turnround.
“It’s just staying focused on our preparation and doing our best when the game comes,” Davis said. “Executing the past few days has been great.”
Milwaukee had lost six straight before its sweep of the Pirates in mid-June. Those three wins kicked off a 9-4 stretch, including a 3-2 win against the host New York Mets on Thursday.
Before the series finale at New York, Milwaukee optioned infielder Luis Urias to Triple-A Nashville after he struggled to find his groove at the plate since coming off the injured list on June 5.
The corresponding move was recalling infielder Brice Turang, who started at second base on Thursday and went 1-for-4 with a double. Turang was cold at the plate when he was demoted June 7.
“I went down (to Nashville), felt good, got right,” he said. “There were some changes. There kind of had to be. I had to figure it out a little bit.”
In the series opener on Friday, Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta (5-7, 4.65 ERA) is scheduled to start against Pittsburgh’s Osvaldo Bido (0-1, 3.45) in a matchup of right-handers.
Peralta is coming off a loss at Cleveland on Saturday in which he allowed three runs and four hits in five-plus innings. He continually worked through jams — including getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation with just one run in the fourth.
“He lost command a little bit in the fourth but did a great job,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Peralta was less forgiving of himself.
“It’s hard when you’re feeling good and then you run into a bad inning,” he said. “It’s part of the process.”
Peralta is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 18 career games, half of them starts, against Pittsburgh. That includes a no-decision in a June 18 start, when he allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out nine.
Bido, another Pittsburgh rookie, will make his fourth career start, his first against the Brewers.
He received zero runs of support while in the game in his past two outings. Most recently, he allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings during a no-decision Saturday at Miami. Bido allowed nine hits and no walks while fanning five.
–Field Level Media
