Jackson’s Wildness, Brewers’ Big Fifth Inning Sink Pirates 7-3

PITTSBURGH — Andre Jackson walked a career-high five batters and the Milwaukee Brewers erupted for six runs in the fifth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates fell 7-3 at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

Recap

After walking the bases loaded in the fourth, Jackson limited the damage to just one run thanks to a double play and a flyout.

He wasn’t able to extinguish the fire in the fifth, however. The Brewers’ first hit against the Pirates’ starter didn’t come until an Andruw Monasterio run-scoring triple in the inning. After an infield single from Brice Turang and a Christian Yelich sacrifice fly, the Brewers extended their lead to 4-0.

Jackson (1-2) walked Willson Contreras with one out in the inning and was lifted in favor of Thomas Hatch.

Carlos Santana hit Hatch’s first offering to deep center and Jack Suwinski lost the ball in the sky, resulting in an RBI double for Santana. The Brewers scored twice more on a Mark Canha single and an error by left fielder Joshua Palacios.

The Pirates managed only two hits off of Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff (4-1). The right-hander blanked the Pirates across 7.0 innings.

Connor Joe connected on a three-run homer over the notch in left-center in the bottom of the ninth inning to get the Pirates on the board.

Key Moment 

Monasterio’s triple sparked the Brewers’ big inning and ensured they led the game wire-to-wire.

Star of the Game

Woodruff kept the Pirates out of the run column and punched out six batters in his outing. He didn’t allow a runner to reach second base.

Stat to Know

Prior to this one, the most batters Jackson walked in a game was four, which came in his major league debut against the Pirates while with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 16, 2021.

Noteworthy

• Hunter Stratton, who was selected by the Pirates on Monday, made his major league debut. He threw two scoreless innings and recorded the first strikeout of his career against Tyrone Taylor to end the eighth.
• Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to seven games with a ninth-inning single. He finished the game 1 for 3 with a walk.
• The Pirates placed top prospect Paul Skenes on the development list, which closes the book on his 2023 season.
• Right-hander Yohan Ramirez was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Outfielder Call Mitchell cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Both players were DFA’d on Sept. 1.

Up Next

The Pirates (64-75) and Brewers (77-61) will wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in the final meeting between the two teams this season. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter and Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.85 ERA) will pitch for Milwaukee.