MILWAUKEE _ Chances are this is the last time the Pirates will look like this and play a game, as the MLB trade deadline arrives Monday afternoon.
At least this group can say that it went out with a bang.
A couple of them, actually.
Although the Pirates are hardly known for their long-ball prowess, they used a couple of early bombs and a bounce-back effort from the bullpen to earn a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday at Miller Park.
The win sets up a possible series split for the Pirates (10-21) on Monday, while it also snapped a seven-game losing streak for them in this building.
Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell had the homers, in the second and fourth innings, respectively. Bell's was a tape-measure job that might've helped a fan win a car had there been any of them here.
The day after the Pirates went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left a season-high 11 runners on, Sunday turned out to be Milwaukee's turn; the Brewers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.
The Pirates bullpen got contributions from a couple different guys in this one, including 2 2/3 innings from Nick Tropeano, making his second appearance with Pittsburgh.
Tropeano worked four scoreless innings last Tuesday in Chicago and continued to make a positive impression.
Another terrific effort came from Geoff Hartlieb, who relieved Tropeano in the seventh with two runners on. Although Hartlieb and the Pirates fell victim to a terrible missed call from home-plate umpire CB Bucknor, Hartlieb regrouped and got pinch-hitter Justin Smoak swinging to end it.
(Bucknor missed Smoak's foul tip that Jacob Stallings caught.)
Hartlieb, who has ditched his four-seamer while steadily improving his sinker-slider combo, picked up two more strikeouts in a scoreless eighth.
The Pirates saved the best for last, as Richard Rodriguez _ who served up the walk-off home run to Eric Sogard on Saturday _ pitched a scoreless ninth.
Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff came into Sunday's game having allowed just three home runs over seven starts, but the Pirates put a couple balls over the fence in the early innings.
To snap out of an 0-for-18 funk that dated back to last weekend's sweep of the Brewers at PNC Park, Polanco jumped on a 2-2 changeup from Woodruff.
And get this: Of Polanco's nine hits this season, five have been homers, two have been doubles and two have been singles.
Bell ambushed a four-seamer for his fourth homer of the season and second in as many games. The 428-foot bomb actually landed on the hood of the Toyota Highlander that sits on the concourse beyond right-center field.
The Brewers briefly tied the score at 1 in the third inning when second baseman Keston Hiura singled to score second baseman Luis Urias, but Steven Brault was able to limit the damage.
Speaking of Brault, he lasted three innings and struck out a season-high five. Although he only walked one, Brault's pitch count was high, and he gave way to Kyle Crick after throwing 68 pitches.
Appearing in a game for the first time since July 27, Crick's fastball velocity was several ticks below normal. After averaging 95.8 mph in 2018 and 95.3 mph a season ago, Crick's four-seamer averaged just 91.1 mph on Sunday.
Maybe it was some of the stride adjustments Crick made, or maybe it was something more. Whatever the case, it's worth monitoring in Crick's next couple appearances.
The Pirates tacked on another run in the fifth inning when Kevin Newman singled with two outs after Erik Gonzalez and Adam Frazier worked walks off Woodruff.
It bucked a trend for Newman against the Brewers, as he began Sunday's game hitless in 19 at-bats against them this season and hitting .324 (22-for-68) versus everyone else.
The run nearly didn't count, as the Pirates made another base-running gaffe. Frazier was thrown out trying to advance to third on the ball to left field, an unnecessary risk to take. For one, the play is right in front of Frazier. Then with two outs, running on contact would allow him to score from second on a single.
