MILWAUKEE _ If Junior Guerra is indeed being shopped as trade bait by the Milwaukee Brewers, he most certainly increased their asking price with his latest outing.
The right-hander sparkled Friday night, limiting the Pittsburgh Pirates to four hits and a walk while falling just short of a complete game in a 3-1 Brewers victory at Miller Park.
Chris Carter's two-run home run in the first inning provided the necessary offense and Keon Broxton added some insurance with an RBI double in the sixth.
Guerra, meanwhile, continued his incredible roll. The 31-year-old, claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox last Sept. 21, allowed just two base-runners and no runs over the first eight innings before the Pirates got to him for a walk and two singles to chase him in the ninth.
He struck out five in a 105-pitch outing, just missing pitching the Brewers' first complete game since Taylor Jungmann last July 11 against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium.
With the trade winds swirling around teammates like Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith, Guerra entered the night as an under-the-radar candidate with a 6-2 record and 2.85 ERA.
He was 1-1 with a 1.78 ERA in four July starts entering Friday, and in 15 total turns ranked with Zach Davies as the Brewers' biggest breakout performer overall thanks in large part to his effective split-finger fastball.
Guerra got a quick 2-0 lead courtesy of Carter. He cracked a two-out homer over the Brewers' bullpen in left-center off left-hander Steven Brault, who was making just his second appearance in the major leagues.
The round-tripper was Carter's first since he hit two against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 8, a stretch of 15 games.
After pitching a 1-2-3 first inning, Guerra surrendered a leadoff double to Starling Marte in the second before again finding his groove. Beginning with a strikeout of Jung Ho Kang and ending with a popout by Josh Harrison, he set down 12 straight Pirates before Jordy Mercer singled to open the sixth.
Guerra didn't skip a beat, retiring Pittsburgh in order to close out the inning. He got another run to work with in the bottom half of the frame thanks to consecutive doubles by Scooter Gennett and Broxton, then sailed through the seventh and eighth.
After getting Mercer to ground out to end the eighth, Guerra's pitch count stood at 87. He surrendered a single to pinch-hitter Matt Joyce to open the ninth, and then followed by issuing his first walk to John Jaso to put two on with nobody out.
Manager Craig Counsell strolled to the mound, and after a short conversation turned and headed back to the dugout while the crowd of 29,442 cheered. Guerra got Gregory Polanco to hit into a fielder's choice, and Andrew McCutchen followed with another to break up the shutout.
After Marte singled to center, Counsell called on Jeffress as Guerra departed to a big ovation. Jeffress needed just one pitch to retire Kang, giving him his 25th save in 26 chances and Milwaukee the victory.
