Mark Melancon had a rare loss of control in the ninth with the Pirates hanging to a 3-2 lead. The closer allowed a two-run walk-off single to Khris Davis after allowing a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases.
It is the fifth time the Pirates have blown a lead after eight innings as Jason Grilli has blown three saves and Melancon two.
There was some good news that came out of this game as Wandy Rodriguez — activated off of the DL today — went five inning while allowing only two runs — both on solo home runs — and four hits.
The Pirates got their offense from the bottom of the lineup as Tony Sanchez (2 RBI) and Gaby Sanchez (RBI) both hit homers to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead after six innings.
They had a chance to get insurance in the eighth when Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez walked to start the inning. Gaby then came up and rifled a groundball down the third base line that was snatched out of the air by Brewers third basemen Mark Reynolds, who started a 5-4-3 double play. The Bucs would not score in the inning which proved to be costly.
Prior to Melancon, the bullpen duo of Justin Wilson and Tony Watson worked three innings of scoreless relief while striking out six in-a-row.
It is the first series loss for the Pirates in two weeks as they fall 8 1/2 games behind the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.
Starters Lines
Rodriguez (ND): 5 IN, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s, 2 HR. 73 Pitches (43 Strikes).
Gallardo (ND): 6 1/3 IN, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K’s, 2 HR. 108 Pitches (64 Strikes).
The Pirates will now head to New York City for a three-game set against the Yankees starting tomorrow night.
Follow @TBerardi_OVA
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
