Pirates once again fall just short against their divisional bully taken at PNC Park (Pirates)

JUSTIN BERL / GETTY

Kolten Wong is congratulated after scoring the winning run Thursday at PNC Park.

If it was not for the Brewers, this would be an encouraging start of the season for a young Pirates club.

Baseball doesn't work like that, though. And while the Pirates are a more than respectable 8-5 against the rest of the league, they are 0-6 against the defending Central Division champs, including a 3-2 loss at PNC Park Thursday where they let a ninth inning lead slip through their fingers.

"Talking to other guys, we really wanted to get this one today, and to let it slip through and me being the one on the mound is especially frustrating for me," Chris Stratton, who blew the ninth inning save, said. "I've been here a long time now, and it seems like the Brewers are the team that gives us the fritz out of most teams, so really wish we could have slid one by them there."

Last year, the Pirates could only muster five wins in their 19 games with the Brewers, only winning one of their six series played. Dating back to 2020, they are 10-25 against their division rival, with 13 of those losses being decided by three or fewer runs.

That includes four such losses this year, none of which were as close as Thursday.

Leading 2-1 entering the top of the ninth, the Brewers brought Christian Yelich up as a pinch-hitter with one out and the bases empty.

He would end up seeing just one pitch, bunting it back to Stratton, who did not charge at it and ended up delivering the ball late to the bag at first.

"I didn't really know how much time I had," Stratton said. "In hindsight, I wish I had gotten rid of it a little bit quicker there. Maybe that would have given me a better chance. A guy like that, you think he's going to come up and try to do some damage."

That would be the first of four straight singles by the Brewers, capped by an Andrew McCutchen line drive that a leaping Josh VanMeter was unable to grab:

After using David Bednar against the heart of the Brewers' order in the eighth, the script the Pirates had for how they wanted to use their relievers was executed well up until Stratton's inning.

The Pirates would go down in order in the ninth, finalizing another close loss to the Brewers and failing to get a measuring stick win against a potential World Series contender.

"They are a good team," Derek Shelton said. "We have played well in five of the six [games against them]. We gotta figure out a way to beat ‘em because we’re right there at the cusp, sometimes even having a lead. And we haven’t been able to finish the game. 

"As we develop as a club, we’re gonna have to figure out how to finish games against a club like that."

"The key to a good season is pulling out the tight games, and it sucks that we had a really close games we lost, but we're right there with them," Bryan Reynolds told me.

If there's any silver lining, the Pirates will get another crack at them.

"It's a long season," added Stratton. "We'll see them again. Hopefully we'll continue to learn from each game and get better."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• The Brewers' only other run also came off the bat of McCutchen, homering on the first pitch of the game against José Quintana.

That would end up being Quintana's lone blemish. He would go on to allow just three more hits over his five innings, striking out nine without a walk. 

Like we have seen earlier this year, Quintana relied on the changeup and curveball more than he has in years past, though it was a more even mix between those two offspeed offerings and fastballs up in the zone:

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"On a day like today, all three of my pitches were working really good and it was fantastic," Quintana said.

That offspeed stuff is key for allowing Quintana to mess with the hitter's timing, allowing his fastball to play up a little more despite coming in at about 91 mph.

"I think it makes my fastball and curveball — my strengths — get better. I think I'll get in a better position to get swings and misses. It's huge."

• McCutchen came into this game a career .136 hitter against the Pirates with only one home run.

Thursday was the first time he ever made them pay.

"I haven’t done much against my old team," he said. "It’s probably the first time I’ve actually done well against the Pirates, not just here but against them in general. It was good. Good to be able to show up, sleep in my own bed and get a win today."

Andrew Knapp was originally supposed to start behind the plate, but was a late scratch when he too fell ill from the bug that has been going around the Pirates' clubhouse this week. Roberto Pérez started in his place.

• Quick housekeeping note: Bryan Reynolds just had the flu, but since the symptoms were similar to COVID-19, he was temporarily placed on that injured list. He was activated off the list Wednesday.

He went 1-for-4 Thursday.

• Factoid of the game: The last time Quintana struck out at least nine with no walks in a game was August 30, 2017 with the Cubs. He faced the Pirates that day.

THE ESSENTIALS

Boxscore
Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

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THE INJURIES

COVID injured list: INF/OF Cole Tucker

10-day injured list: SS Kevin Newman (groin), RHP Duane Underwood (hamstring), RHP Max Kranick (forearm)

60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Ben Gamel, LF
5. Michael Chavis, 1B
6. Jack Suwinski, RF
7. Diego Castillo, SS
8. Josh VanMeter, 2B
9. Roberto Pérez, C

And for Craig Counsell's Crew:

1. Andrew McCutchen, DH
2. Willy Adames, SS
3. Hunter Renfroe, RF
4. Keston Hiura, 1B
5. Tyrone Taylor, LF
6. Lorenzo Cain, CF
7. Mike Brosseau, 3B
8. Kolten Wong, 2B
9. Alex Jackson, C

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will welcome the Padres to PNC Park this weekend, starting with a 6:35 p.m. contest Friday between Zach Thompson (0-2, 10.80) and Yu Darvish (1-1, 4.43). I've got you covered for that one.

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