Pittsburgh Pirates lose to Milwaukee Brewers 1-4 in series finale – MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat at the hands of Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday, July 15 in the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
A.J. Burnett, who had been absolutely outstanding in his previous starts, finally showed some signs of vulnerability as he gave up nine hits and four runs in seven innings to take his fourth loss of the season.
Centre-fielder Andrew McCutchen homered to right in the fourth inning to break the deadlock and give Pirates a crucial 1-0 lead. However, apart from him none of the hitters could trouble the scorers.
"It's really like win or go home every game," Brewers’ starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo said. "We all know the nine games we have here, the next series with the Cardinals, then the Reds. They're very important."
"We got in a bad rut here, swinging the bat as far as striking out," Manager Clint Hurdle said in a post game interview. "Gallardo was very good today. We were susceptible to a lot of things he was doing. He had a very sharp breaking ball."
Hurdle will be extremely disappointed with the outcome of the game. With their loss to the Brewers on Sunday, the Pirates also lost their first place to Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central Division standings.
With their steady performances, the Pirates have impressed the critics big time this season. The Pirates have never won the NL Central title and credit should be given to them for showing great determination and fighting spirit since the start of this year.
Right now, Hurdle and company are ten games over the .500 win percentage mark but things can change quickly. The Pirates will have to regroup themselves as soon as possible to avoid defeat against Colorado Rockies in their next series.
Milwaukee held their nerves to prevail in a thrilling series’ opener. The Pirates bounced back strongly in second game and there was a great shift in momentum but the Brewers used their home conditions to perfection on Sunday to take the series.
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