​Good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s officially the All-Star Break. The bad news is that the Brewers’ pitching staff surrendered 14 runs today. In recent years, the Brewers and Pirates have met in the final series before the All-Star break, and the results have rarely favored the blue and yellow. That pattern persisted in today’s series finale as Milwaukee fell 14-5 to Pittsburgh.
As has been a recurring theme on this road trip, the Brewers often found themselves trailing early. The Pirates jumped ahead in the bottom of the second when Ryan O’Hearn doubled to right to drive in the first run. Shortly after, Jackson Chourio nearly robbed a two-run homer but watched it carried over the wall for Henry Davis’s eighth homer of the year. The Brewers did spark a response in the top of the fourth, with Chourio smacking a double to bring Christian Yelich home and trim the deficit to 4-1. Later in the inning, Gary Sánchez grounded out but drove in a run, making it 4-2.
That brief offensive spark quickly faded as the game spiraled into a nightmare. In the bottom of the fourth, the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs, and the Brewers found themselves down 11-2 after a flurry of hit-after-hit and a handful of runs that followed the first out. Pittsburgh tacked on two more runs to push the lead to 14-2 before the Brewers finally managed another response. The top of the eighth brought a two-run homer from Brice Turang and an RBI double from Garrett Mitchell, bringing the final tally to 14-5.
pitching was the clear issue today. The day started poorly with Jacob Misiorowski scratched and news that Brandon Woodruff would be moved to the 60-day injured list. Among the pitchers who did appear, Robert Gasser struggled, being chased after three innings while yielding seven runs on eight hits and surrendering two homers. Jared Koenig didn’t record an out, allowing five runs on two hits and two walks. Grant Anderson did manage to pitch one inning but gave up two runs on three hits.
On the bright side, Bryse Wilson returned to the Brewers’ rotation and delivered three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while striking out four. Offensively, Chourio produced the day’s only multi-hit effort, and Turang added a two-run homer along with an RBI double. Braden Shewmake, making his Brewers debut, went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts before being replaced by Andrew Vaughn.
Looking ahead, there isn’t much planned for the near term beyond the All-Star break. William Contreras will be the Brewers’ lone representative at this year’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, with the game scheduled for Tuesday on FOX at 7:00 p.m. For the rest of the roster, the break provides an opportunity to regroup, reset, and prepare for the remainder of the season. The Brewers will hope to carry the lessons from today into the second half, where pitching depth and consistency will be essential to turning the page from this disappointing finish to the first half.