Then, in the ninth inning, Pittsburgh (48-45) handed the ball to closer Mark Melancon, who allowed the first two Brewers he faced to reach base (issuing a walk to Ryan Braun and giving up a single to Jonathan Lucroy).
Advertisement
Incredibly, Taillon didn’t appear to be seriously injured and somehow stayed in the game, going on to pitch six full innings and allowing just one run in the Pirates’ eventual walk-off win.
“This is one area that I’m not really comfortable with”, he said.
Carlos Torres (2-1) won in relief of Chase Anderson, who struggled once again but was bailed out by an offence that took it to Locke and added on after the Pirates drew within 5-4 in the fifth on Freese’s RBI-double to right. “What you want in your lineup is for the first two guys to set up your big run producers, and Brauny and Luc came through”, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. The Pirates will try to push their winning streak to three straight and clinch a series win when they host the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of a three-game series on Wednesday.The Pirates have totaled six runs in their last four games, and one of those contests lasted 18 innings.
Locke walked five batters and gave up five runs before getting pulled in the top of the fourth inning of a 9-5 loss to Milwaukee, another shaky performance in a month full of them.
Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco (25) slides past Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy (20) to score a run in the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.
Mets 2, Cubs 1 • Rene Rivera drove in the tiebreaking run with two outs in the top of the ninth, then Jeurys Familia escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the frame to give NY a victory.
“Whenever someone gets hit in the head, it’s scary”, Gennett said.
Pitcher Jameson Taillon was making his first start since being placed on the 15-day DL because of right shoulder fatigue, and his appearance was almost shorter than expected. “It seemed everybody we started with a strike to, we followed up with a ball or two balls or three balls”.
Locke loaded the bases without recording an out in the fourth by walking two batters, including the pitcher, and permitting a bunt single.
While they assessed Taillon, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and team physician Dr. Edward Snell were on the mound listening to the trainers’ feedback. Among the basestealers was Villar, who got his NL-leading 34th base in the sixth. Locke has a 5-5 record with a 3.26 ERA in 13 career starts against the Brewers.
Advertisement
“I thought we hit some balls hard off (Taillon) but we couldn’t get the runner-in-scoring position hit”, Counsell said.
