Mercer led off the inning with a single.
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Pittsburgh broke up the shutout in the ninth on a fielder-choice from Andrew McCutchen. The rally died when Marte and Kang ran into outs on the bases.
The Bucs fell to the Brewers 3-1 in Milwaukee Friday, adding injury to insult as they lost Francisco Cervelli in the process. He improved to 7-2 on the season.
Manager Craig Counsell began walking out to the mound. “I found myself just kind of, you know, trying too hard”.
The Pirates got strong six innings from Jameson Taillon (2-2), who only allowed two runs on six hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out six. The 32-year-old Californian has not been victorious since June 25, when he notched the win against Washington despite yielding four runs on seven hits and three walks in six frames. After getting thrown out attempting to steal third base in the second, Starling Marte trapped himself in a rundown in the fourth.
“I really wanted it”, Guerra said through an interpreter.
Chris Carter’s two-run home run in the first inning was his 23rd of the season and his first since July 8. He did make an appearance as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and flied out.
Guerra has been a pleasant surprise for the Brewers since coming to the major leagues on May 3. He went yard once and finished 2-4 with 1 RBI. “He’s got swing-and-miss stuff after that whether it’s the split or the breaking ball, changeup”. Colorado’s Trevor Story and Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo each have 16.
Pirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong made his fourth rehab start Wednesday. Cole allowed one run over nine innings in a 10-1 win over Seattle on July 27. Vogelsong has been out since May 24 with facial fractures.
Ryan Braun is expected to resume playing this week. “Just a little bit tight; waiting for it to loosen up”, Braun said.
“We come in here, what did we get, six runs?” manager Clint Hurdle said. Chase Anderson takes the hill, and he’s 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA and 74 strikeouts this season.
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Milwaukee has won eight straight home games against the Pirates and kept two-time All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy on the bench as the Brewers considered trade possibilities.
