MILWAUKEE — Manager Derek Shelton walked to the mound in the seventh inning, took the ball from Sam Howard, handed it to Clay Holmes and returned to the Pirates dugout still feeling pretty good about his team’s chances.
Facing Brandon Woodruff, who’s having an absolutely incredible start to the season, the Pirates had hit two homers and were actually tied with the National League Central-leading Brewers, a club that came into Friday with MLB’s best record (14-4) since May 22.
Not long after Shelton returned to his familiar post to the left of the steps, the dynamics of this particular game shifted. In a way that someone might describe a tornado as a stiff breeze.
The decision to change pitchers backfired on Shelton because the next two guys he put into the game couldn’t throw a strike. Holmes and Trevor Cahill combined to walk six (one intentionally) during a five-run inning for Milwaukee, including three free passes with the bases loaded, as the Pirates walked their way to a 7-4 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field.
Overall, Pirates pitchers walked 11 in what was easily their wildest effort of the season.
It was clear from the moment he entered the game that Holmes, who has been one of the Pirates’ best relievers this season, simply didn’t have much control over his sinker or anything else. Holmes walked two of the first three men he faced, the free passes sandwiched around a single from third baseman Luis Urias.
After falling behind Christian Yelich 3-1 — definitely not an ideal strategy — the Brewers left fielder drove a bouncing ball up the middle that turned into an unlikely double, scoring two and pushing Milwaukee in front, 4-2. It got much worse from there. For Shelton, too.
The manager had Holmes intentionally walk catcher Omar Narvaez to pursue a right-on-right matchup with shortstop Willy Adames. Holmes walked Adames, and Milwaukee’s lead grew to 5-2. Shelton then turned to Cahill, and he walked the next two hitters to make it a 7-2 game.
A half-dozen walks in a game will almost always hurt. Six in an inning feels more like an iron to the forehead, especially when Ke’Bryan Hayes blasted a 424-foot homer the next inning. The two-run shot cut the Brewers’ lead to three, as Hayes got all of a full-count curveball from Brewers reliever Hoby Milner for his third of the season.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 23-39 this season, as they’ve now lost five in a row. It should have been a better outcome given the fact that they hit three home runs against Milwaukee and scored four runs in a game started by Woodruff, whose OPS against (.422) coming into this one was the lowest for any pitcher through 12 starts since 1969.
Woodruff allowed seven extra-base hits in his first 12 starts. The Pirates on Friday had three. And the inability to throw strikes at key times doomed them.
For as much as he’s struggled this season, Gregory Polanco put a huge swing on a Woodruff fastball in the sixth inning, one the right-hander left up in the zone. Polanco screamed and flipped his bat, as the ball sailed into the second deck in right.
Woodruff had allowed just four home runs the entire season before the Pirates — who began the game with an MLB-low 42, 12 fewer than anyone else — got halfway to that total on Friday.
Ben Gamel homered against his former team to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, pouncing on another mistake up in the zone. Both Gamel and Polanco hit fastballs, a pitch on which opposing hitters were slugging just .149 this season.
The Pirates’ edge didn’t last long, however, as the Brewers used a couple hits, a Pirates mistake and a perfectly executed safety squeeze to pick up a pair of runs.
First came a leadoff, bloop double from Narvaez that dropped into shallow center. It looked like Gamel, starting in center to give Bryan Reynolds a day off, was tentative and stopped short, not wanting to steamroll one of his teammates.
After a walk to second baseman Jace Pederson, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. lined a four-seamer from Chase De Jong into right field. Although Narvaez has an average sprint speed that’s only a little faster than Colin Moran, he decided to test Polanco’s arm by attempting to score.
It wound up being the right move, as Polanco did not get off a strong throw. The ball dribbled to the plate, allowing Narvaez to score easily.
Milwaukee pulled ahead on a perfectly executed safety squeeze from Woodruff. With runners on the corners, Phillip Evans held Bradley Jr. on at first. Woodruff smartly pushed a ball to the right side, and there was nothing the Pirates could do about it.
After he tired at the end of his last start, De Jong did a much better job regrouping after the second inning and working around four walks to complete five innings. The biggest start-to-start improvement for the 27-year-old might’ve been his ability to maintain velocity and feel for his stuff.
