Chris Stewart offered a point to the head on three different occasions for the Pittsburgh Pirates and twice, runs were scored.
“That’s just for everybody, I want to let them know that it’s a smart hit,” Stewart said. “The more smart hitting we do, the more runs we had. I did it a little bit last year but people are getting into this year. It’s a lot of fun but at the same time it gets a lot of runs across.”
Because of this and a reluctance to give in to Milwaukee Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson, the Pirates snapped their seven game losing streak to their National League Central rival winning by a 6-2 score Friday night.
Once again, the Brewers scored in the first inning, this time it was two runs. Elian Herrera recorded a one-out double and Adam Lind hit his 19th home run on an 0-1 fastball which landed over the right-center field seats.
Morton [9-7] would settle down after this and recorded 11 groundball outs in his six innings of work. He also limited the Brewers to three hits which ties a season low set June 10 against these same Brewers and May 30 against the San Diego Padres.
“As the game went on, the fastball, the sinker, command got sharper,” said manager Clint Hurdle. “He was able to work it into left-handed batters. He was able to sink it down and in to right-handers which played to the ground balls. The curve and changeup came into play as well to left-handers. Three DPs were a big part of his success tonight. He got 11 ground ball outs while he was on the mound. He pitched very effectively against a heavy laden left-handed hitting lineup.”
For three innings, Nelson [11-12] did not surrender a hit to the Pirates. This changed when Josh Harrison led off the fourth with a single. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker each walked with two outs.
Earlier in the day, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle offered his support for Jordy Mercer who has been earning more playing time of late. This loyalty was justified when Mercer hit an RBI single. Entering play Friday night, Mercer was hitting .333 in his last eight games played at PNC Park.
“That’s what we try to do as a team, work the pitcher,” Mercer said. “I think he was at 100 pitches through five [innings. He wears down and a couple big hits and that’s the Pirates way of winning.”
This brought Stewart to the plate. Stewart, a .300 hitter in his last 21 games at PNC Park. This trend continued with a single which placed the Pirates in front by a 3-2 margin.
Nelson’s night was finished in the sixth inning after Jung Ho Kang was hit by a pitch and Walker singled. With Tyler Cravy now in for the Brewers, Stewart struck again with an RBI single.
An inning later, David Goforth entered and McCutchen led off with a double. Two batters later, Kang doubled in a run. He would then advance to third base and score on a sacrifice fly. Kang now has 25 extra base hits since the All-Star Break which leads all rookies.
Though a run did not score in the eighth inning, Stewart caught the Brewers off guard with a bunt single to lead off the inning.
Mark Melancon pitched the ninth inning and earned his Major League-leading 45th save this season. His 25 saves at PNC Park are the most in a single season which surpasses Jose Mesa’s feat from 2004. Melancon is now one save away from tying Mike Williams’ club record for most in a single season.
The third game in this four-game series will take place Saturday night when Jeff Locke [7-10 4.56 ERA] will face Zach Davies [1-0 3.97 ERA]. Locke is 4-4 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 career starts against the Brewers.
Photo credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
