Reese homers as Pirates sweep Brewers
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Don’t try to sell the Milwaukee Brewers on the idea that PNC Park is one of baseball’s nicest new stadiums. Pokey Reese hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 win over the Brewers on Sunday.
The Pirates swept the three-game series and are 6-0 against the Brewers this year. They are 12-1 in two seasons at PNC Park against Milwaukee and have beaten the Brewers in nine consecutive games overall.
“Same old story,” Brewers starter Jamey Wright said. “Maybe we need to do something else before we come in here the next time because coming in here and getting swept every time is not too much fun.”
Wright (1-3) walked Keith Osik with two outs in the eighth and was pulled after throwing 123 pitches. Jose Cabrera relieved and Reese barely cleared the short left field wall with his first homer of the season, giving the Pirates a 5-3 lead.
“You can’t give up a home run there,” Brewers manager Jerry Royster said. “You can’t do it. It can’t happen.”
But Reese hit his first since last Aug. 31, when he was with the Cincinnati Reds. That home run came against the Pirates.
Royster had limited options in the bullpen. Closer Mike DeJean needed a day off and Chad Fox has shoulder pain and will be headed back to Milwaukee for an examination.
Reese has been in a 12-for-83 slump since he came off the disabled list on May 4 after a hamstring injury. He’s hitting just .208.
“His last 15 at-bats have been really good,” Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. “He hasn’t had a lot to show for it. He’s been swinging better so it didn’t surprise me that he put a good stroke on that pitch.”
Said Reese: “I always expect myself to come through in the clutch. I expect to drive the ball and use the gaps. I’m not looking to hit home runs. If the ball goes out, that’s fine. That ball was in and I was able to get good wood on it.”
Scott Sauerbeck (2-0) pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for the win and Mike Williams allowed Jose Hernandez’s 11th homer to lead off the inning and then retired three in a row for his 19th save.
Pirates starter Kip Wells lasted six innings but wasn’t especially sharp.
“He didn’t have his best stuff but he’s been great for us,” McClendon said. “You can’t expect the young man to be lights out every time.”
The Pirates tied it at 3 in the sixth. Osik’s double scored Kevin Young, who walked.
Pittsburgh’s first two runs came on homers – Chad Hermansen led off the first, and Young hit his fifth. Wright has allowed nine home runs in five starts.
“Young is the one I’m upset about,” Wright said. “I usually pound him with fastballs in, but I threw a slider, which is my fourth-best pitch and I got beat on it. It probably cost me the win.”
Milwaukee took a 3-2 lead with two runs in the fifth. Hernandez walked, advanced on a bunt and scored when Alex Sanchez singled. Eric Young doubled to score Sanchez.
The Brewers scored in the second on singles by Lenny Harris and Hernandez and Marcus Jensen’s sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Wright led off the seventh with a double, and has hit safely in four of his last five starts. It was his third double of the season. … Despite a .409 career average against Wright, Pirates C Jason Kendall got the day off. He caught 11 innings on Saturday night and the Pirates play in Anaheim on Monday night. … Hermansen has hit three of his homers this season as the Pirates’ first batter of the game. … OF Armando Rios started an injury rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona on Sunday. Rios is on the disabled list with a left knee contusion.