Pirates pummel Brewers again
In the first half of the season, when the words "big," "inning" and "Pirates" were used in the same sentence, it was never a good thing for the Bucs.
That hasn't been the case the past two days.
The Pirates scored nine runs in the first inning on Tuesday, then on Wednesday scored six in the fourth en route to a 15-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.
By the time they chased starter Randy Wolf -- the pitcher of record in the Brewers' 20-0 win over the Pirates three months ago today - he had given up career highs in hits and runs and the Pirates had a nine-run lead.
"It's very fun to go out there and play some good baseball and come out winning," said Pedro Alvarez, who led another big night from the Pirates' rookies with two home runs for the second night in a row. "It's what we want to do, and it makes it that much better when you have a good day that you can celebrate with your teammates."
Alvarez was 3 for 5 with three RBI, Jose Tabata was 2 for 4 with one RBI and Neil Walker went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBI. Utility man Delwyn Young also had a big night, going 3 for 4 with a home run and a career-high five RBI.
"Del can hit," manager John Russell said of Young, who was in the lineup with Andrew McCutchen sidelined with a shoulder injury. "He's a valuable guy off the bench with the way he can swing the bat. We try to get him out there when we can. He keeps himself ready and works really hard."
Zach Duke (4-9) allowed one run in each of the first three innings, then limited the Brewers until giving up back-to-back singles in the seventh. He surrendered six hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks in six-plus innings. Duke struck out three.
"It's great. We're having great at-bats and we continue to grind," Duke said of the run support. "We don't give anything away, and that's the main thing. It seems like we're swinging at all the good pitches, fouling off the really good pitches, taking balls, then hitting our pitch. It's really fun to watch right now."
The Pirates have won four of six since the All-Star break. They are batting .374 in their past four games. and their 15 runs last night was a season high.
"For an old guy, it's fun to watch these young guys come into their own and have success like you knew they could," said Donnelly, who retired three in a row, two on strikeouts, after relieving Duke. "The fact that they're doing it as a group is something Pittsburgh can look forward to, and it's almost overnight. It's like two different teams showed up (before the break and after)."
How they scored
Brewers first (Zach Duke pitching) -- Rickie Weeks walks. Corey Hart doubles, Weeks goes to third. Casey McGehee hits a sacrifice fly, Weeks scores. Brewers 1, Pirates 0.
Pirates first (Randy Wold pitching) -- Jose Tabata walks then advances to second on a passed ball. Delwyn Young singles to center field, Tabata scores. Neil Walker doubles to left-center field, Young scores. Pirates 2, Brewers 1.
Brewers second -- George Kottaras hits a home run. Pirates 2, Brewers 2.
Brewers third -- Ryan Braun singles. McGehee reaches base on a throwing error to Pedro Alvarez, Braun goes to third. Carlos Gomez singles, Braun scores. Brewers 3, Pirates 2.
Pirates fourth -- Garrett Jones singles. Pedro Alvarez singles, Jones singles to right field, Jones goes to third. Lastings Milledge doubles, Jones scores, Alvarez goes to third. Ronny Cedeno singles on bunt, Alvarez scores, Milledge goes to third. Tabata singles, Milledge scores, Cedeno goes to second. Delwyn Young homers, Cedeno and Tabata score. Pirates 8, Brewers 3.
Pirates fifth -- Garrett Jones walks, Pedro Alvarez homers. Pirates 10, Brewers 3.
Pirates sixth -- Duke singles, Tabata singles, Duke to second. Young singles, Duke scores, Tabata goes to third. Walker grounds into a double play, Tabata scores. Pirates 12, Brewers 3.
Pirates seventh (David Riske pitching) -- Milledge singles, Cedeno singles, Milledge goes to second. Andy LaRoche singles, Milledge scores, Cedeno goes to second. Young walks, Cedeno to third, LaRoche to second. Walker singles, Cedeno scores. Pirates 14, Brewers 3.
Pirates eighth (Kameron Loe pitching) -- Alvarez homers. Pirates 15, Brewers 3.
