Home Runs Power Pittsburgh Pirates to a Wild Victory

Five home runs powered the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night

The month of June was a wild one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thursday night the month was capped off with a wild 8-7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. This win improved the Pirates to 31-45 on the season.

This was the second win in a row for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as the second consecutive win that came in a wild game and saw the Pirate bullpen hang on. There has been a lot of craziness for the Pirates the past two days, but most importantly they have captured a pair of victories.

Another flurry of home runs

For the second day in a row the Pittsburgh Pirates hit at least four home runs by slugging five. They also saw a player hit three home runs for the second consecutive day. This time it was catcher Michael Perez who may have been the least likely Pirate player to have a three home run game.

Entering the day Perez had an OPS+ and wRC+ of 16. There had been plenty of questions as to why Perez was still on the active roster. Well, Thursday night he had the best game of his career and made history.

Perez finished the game 4-for-4 with a trio of home runs, now giving him six on the season. This made Perez the first catcher in Pirate history to hit three home runs in a game. His last home run proved to be a vital one. It came in the bottom of the 8th inning to make the score 8-4 Pirates, but would prove to be the winning run in an 8-7 victory.

The first two Pirate home runs of the day came in back-to-back fashion. Oneil Cruz launched a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning, his second home run since being called up made the score 2-0 Pirates. Jack Suwinski then continued his season long power surge by hitting his MLB rookie leading 13th home run of the season, making the score 3-0 Pittsburgh.

JT Brubaker pitches 6 innings

JT Brubaker started for the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he did not have his best stuff and did not pitch quite as well as he has in recent months, he was able to battle through and go 6 innings to help give an overworked Pirate bullpen most of the night off.

Brubaker allowed a leadoff double in 4 of his 6 innings pitched. All told, he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 6 batters in 6 innings pitched. Even though the Brewers were able to square Brubaker up at times, he still generated 16 swings-and-misses.

Even though it was not the best start from Brubaker he battled it out, went 6 innings and left with his team in the lead. Brubaker continues to grow as a starting pitcher at the major league level and appears to be on his way to locking down a long-term spot in the Pirate starting rotation.

David Bednar struggles, while the rest of the bullpen does their job

Wil Crowe was first up out of the Pirate bullpen. Crowe pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning to keep the Pirates in the lead. Chris Stratton pitched the 8th inning and struck out a pair in a scoreless inning pitched. Thanks to replay, he also overcame a god awful call by first base umpire Angel Hernandez.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates leading 8-4 entering the 9th inning, Derek Shelton went to David Bednar who had not pitched since blowing a save last Sunday. Bednar had not pitched due to a back issue, a back issue that appears to still be plaguing him.

Bednar walked a batter and surrendered 3 runs on 4 hits. With two outs in the inning and two men on base, Bednar was lifted for Yerry De Los Santos. De Los Santos got the final out of the inning to pick up his second save in as many days.

At this point it is very clear that Bednar is not healthy. It may be in the best interest of everyone involved to shut Bednar down with a injured list stint for 10-15 days to let him rest and heal up before things get worse.

Roansy Contreras (2.76 ERA, 4.17 FIP) will start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in game two of the four-game series. Former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes (2.41 ERA, 3.12 FIP) will start for the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.