MILWAUKEE -- The Pirates continued their limp to the finish line Friday night in Miller Park, getting thoroughly beaten by the Brewers, 10-1.
But hey, at least they hit a home run. It had been awhile since that had happened. Six games, to be exact. Or 64 consecutive innings, if you prefer.
It was the third longest streak, by game, anywhere in Major League Baseball this season. The Royals once went eight games without a homer and the Marlins seven. Both cold spells came in May. The Pirates hadn't had a spell this long since 2015.
That was until Adam Frazier got a center-center fastball in the seventh inning and managed to put it in the seats in right:
"You don't like getting shutout and Frazier put one on the board for us, so that's big," Bryan Reynolds was telling me at his locker.
Could finally hitting a home run be a morale win, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it? Perhaps, but a well-placed 358 foot fly ball does not negate the fact the Pirates have had poor power numbers all year.
While they are flirting with the 1996 team's franchise record of 171 home runs in a season, it is coming at a time when half of the league is hitting a record setting amount of homers. Their 160 home runs as a team are the fourth fewest in baseball, ahead of only the Marlins, Tigers and Royals. Those four teams are also the only clubs who failed to homer in at least 60 different games this season.
"It's hard to look at a guy in the lineup and say, 'hey, start hitting home runs... would everybody hit two or three tonight,'" Clint Hurdle said before the game. "Why are we not barreling the ball up I think is the appropriate question and the most accurate question, and I think we've diagnosed why that's happened."
Hurdle said there was a new plan in place for this series, but at least for the first day, it was the same result as the Mariners series: Not a lot of offense.
To be fair, Josh Bell and Starling Marte were out again Friday. With the season nearing its end, there is a chance neither will return to the lineup this year. The two have combined for 60 of the team's 160 homers, or 37.5%. Any lineup would have a significant drop-off after losing their number three and four hitters.
The Pirates have not necessarily been a poor hitting team. Their position players have combined for a .767 OPS, 15th in baseball. Their 703 runs scored are ranked 20th, but a strong finish could put them comfortably in the middle of the pack.
"I think we have one of the best offenses in the league," Reynolds said. "Whatever lull we had is nothing to worry about because we have a lot of talent 1-through-9, so it's just a matter of time."
They just have not hit for a power in a time when the ball is juiced and almost everyone else is.
• On the pitching side, Steven Brault got off to a shaky start. Lorenzo Cain drew a walk, stole second and scored on a Mike Moustakas single in the first, and Ryan Braun put two runners in scoring position with one out on a gap shot double.
After that, Brault got in a groove. The two runners on base did come home to score on a two out throwing error by Kevin Newman, but he faced the minimum from the second inning through the fifth.
"It got his attention, in a good way," Hurdle said. "The mix got better. The fastball got back in the zone."
Brault ran into trouble in the sixth- more on that in a second- and finished his outing after 86 pitches and 5.1 innings.
"I still think today was a huge step forward from my last two starts, even though the stat line doesn't really show it," Brault said.
• Brault was pulled in the sixth after three of the first four Brewers of the inning reached base. His replacement, Yacksel Rios, did not fare much better. He issued a walk and hit a batter and was pulled after three batters faced.
"Rios pitched three times out of the bullpen at our place in a row, coming in with runners on base and had three successful outings [where he] didn't allow anybody to score," Hurdle said of the decision.
Williams Jerez tried to finish off the inning, but walked the only hitter he faced. It was Geoff Hartlieb who finally finished the frame, meaning it took four pitchers to get three outs.
• This was the 30th time the Pirates allowed double-digit runs. It bears repeating that is the most in baseball. The Rockies are in second with 27.
The Pirates became the 18th team since 1908 to have 30 double-digit runs allowed games. It was most recently done by the 2000 Rangers, who finished with 30.
• Braun's double was the 400th of his career. Surprisingly, only 35 of them came against the Pirates- the fewest among the other NL Central clubs. I would not have guessed that.
• If you think there are too many home runs in baseball and want to see some good old fashioned pitcher-batter battles, I would strongly recommend watching the Reynolds vs. Chase Anderson at-bats today. Three at-bats, 20 pitches, two full-counts.
Reynolds won two of the three battles. He pulled two changeups for hits to right field, once for a triple and the other a single, and flew out to left on a high fastball in his third trip to the plate.
Those two changeups were in the same part of the zone, too. Belt high and outside. Did that catch you off guard at all, Bryan?
"I wasn't surprised. He's got a good changeup, really trusts it, so I figured he would probably throw it. I was just trying to get on time for the heater and just see the changeup."
• Reynolds also had a third hit: An infield single in the eighth inning. He ran hard. The Pirates were down nine runs at the time.
It was a hustle play at a time that did not call for hustle. Then again, Reynolds is in a batting title race, though he said that had nothing to do with it.
"I saw where he was playing and knew I had a chance," Reynolds said.
• Reynolds (and Newman) Watch: Speaking of the batting chase, Reynolds raised his average to .321. Christian Yelich and Ketel Marte are both done for the rest of the season, so their .329 averages are set. Anthony Rendon went 0 for 4, and his average fell to .328. Jeff McNeil finished Friday at .321, and he is a fraction of a point ahead of Reynolds.
An 0 for 4 day dropped Newman's clip to .314. His hitting streak ended at 13 games.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Chris Archer (shoulder, out for season)
• Gregory Polanco (shoulder, out for season)
• Josh Bell (groin, likely done for year)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, five more minutes, mom)
Here’s the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
James Marvel (0-2, 9.00) will try to get back on track after his rough showing in Chicago last weekend. Zach Davies (10-7, 3.70) will go for the Brewers, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Eastern time.
THE COVERAGE
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