The Milwaukee Brewers accomplished a few things Friday that could set things up nicely for the final two games of a weekend series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
With a 7-6, 10-inning victory, the Brewers ended a three-game losing streak, broke a run-scored drought that stretched to 26 innings, hit three homers and ensured the Pirates can’t catch them in the National League Central going into the All-Star break.
“We’ve been struggling offensively, but (Friday) we picked it up in a big way,” Milwaukee’s Lorenzo Cain told Fox Sports Wisconsin after his three-hit game. “We definitely needed it.
“We’ve got to build on this and have a good (series) going into the All-Star break.”
But it wasn’t all rosy. Milwaukee had to scratch out a run in the 10th inning after blowing a five-run lead in the bottom of the ninth.
And while the Brewers’ offense awoke with seven runs and 13 hits after being shut out in two consecutive games, Milwaukee still left 11 runners on base and went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position, not to mention allowing the late comeback.
The Brewers will have two more games before the break to further refine things after they apparently got manager Craig Counsell’s message going into this series.
“We can’t lose our enthusiasm in this tough stretch offensively,” he said before Friday’s game. “We need to continue to go at it hard, throw out positive vibes and hope that it’s going to turn. You need to do something positive on every single pitch. (That) is the mandate for what we need to try to do. Pressure all we can.”
Milwaukee then won a game Counsell likened to “The Twilight Zone.”
“We battled, but it wasn’t pretty,” Counsell said. “A lot of good things happened. A lot of not-so-good things happened, but we came out on top in the end.”
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had climbed to within three games of the division lead entering the weekend. Last year at the break, the Pirates were nine games off the division lead.
The Pirates lost their second consecutive game, but they were buoyed by their comeback Friday.
“They’re going to continue to play. It’s the way they’re built,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “It’s what they’ve grown accustomed to doing throughout the season.”
On Saturday, Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser (2-2, 3.26 ERA) is scheduled to face Pittsburgh righty Dario Agrazal (1-0, 2.70).
Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams originally was scheduled to start Saturday, but the team announced he was going on paternity leave.
Pittsburgh will give Agrazal, 24, his third spot start of the season and his career. He has pitched 10 innings over his first two starts, with six strikeouts and no walks.
Neither of his previous appearances have come against Milwaukee.
Houser has had more success as a reliever (2-0, 1.05 ERA in 25 2/3 innings) than as a starter (0-2, 7.62 in 13 innings), but he will be making his fifth start.
Against the Pirates, Houser is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA in three career relief appearances, including two scoreless outings this season and a win over three innings.