Heaney Plagued By Long Ball, Pirates Sloppy in Loss to Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers hit three home runs off Andrew Heaney, who allowed seven runs for the second-straight start, in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 9-3 loss on Tuesday night at American Family Field.

How We Got There

Joey Ortiz put the Brewers (44-36) up 2-0 in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run off Heaney (3-7). The Pirates’ starter continued to be plagued by the long ball in his outing.

In the following inning, Caleb Durbin hit a three-run home run with two outs before Ortiz connected on his second homer of the night to give Milwaukee back-to-back and a 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Jackson Chourio scored on a Michael Darrell-Hicks wild pitch. The run was charged to Heaney.

Nick Gonzales continued to swing a hot bat for the Pirates (32-49) and connected on a three-run home run in the top of the sixth to knock Brewers starter Freddy Peralta out of the game.

Peralta (8-4) had held the Pirates scoreless until that point and struck out eight in 5.0-plus innings.

Ortiz collected his career-high-tying fourth RBI of the game on an eighth-inning fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. Sal Frelick singled home a run to extend the lead to 9-3. Carmen Mlodzinski, who allowed both runs in the eighth, dropped a throw to first base on the fielder’s choice to extend the inning.

Key Moment

The Pirates loaded the bases on three-straight singles in the top of the second inning but failed to score. Third baseman Caleb Durbin fired home on a Henry Davis grounder for the first out. After Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out, Oneil Cruz lined out to left.

Star of the Game

Joey Ortiz recorded the first multi-homer game of his career. Entering play, Ortiz had two home runs in 270 plate appearances this season.

Stat to Know

The Brewers have won 328 consecutive games when leading by seven or more runs. Their last such loss came on May 20, 2001 against the Pirates at PNC Park.

Notable Performances

• Andrew Heaney: 4.0 innings, seven hits, seven runs, three walks, three strikeouts, 85 pitches/45 strikes
• Michael Darrell-Hicks: 2.0 innings, no hits, no runs, no walks, two strikeouts, 24 pitches/16 strikes
• Nick Gonzales: 1 for 4, one home run, three RBI, one run
• Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 4, one double, one run

Noteworthy

• Nick Gonzales has 17 hits over his last 10 games and is batting .395 (17 for 43) during that stretch. Bryan Reynolds is 7 for 13 with three doubles and four runs over his last three games.
• This was the first time Andrew Heaney allowed three home runs in a game since Aug. 24, 2023 against the Minnesota Twins as a member of the Texas Rangers.
• The Pirates recalled RHP Michael Darrell-Hicks and optioned RHP Hunter Stratton to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Up Next

The Pirates will go for the series win with ace RHP Paul Skenes (4-6, 1.85 ERA) on the mound. Promising rookie RHP Jacob Misiorowski (2-0, 1.64 ERA) will start for the Brewers. First pitch: 2:10 p.m. ET.