Christian Yelich drove in the go-ahead runs with a seventh-inning single to help the Milwaukee Brewers secure a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, keeping the National League’s top team rolling toward the postseason.
Clutch Seventh-Inning Hitting Lifts Milwaukee Past Pittsburgh
The visiting Milwaukee Brewers arrived at PNC Park on Wednesday with business to attend to. Kudos to PNC Park’s visiting clubhouse manager Kevin Conrad and his crew, because when the Brewers showed up for work on Wednesday, there were no hints of the big party that had taken place the night before. We’ve got work to do,
manager Pat Murphy said.
That focus paid off in the seventh inning. Rafael Flores Jr. had broken a 3-3 deadlock and given the Pirates their first lead with a solo shot off JoJo Romero with one out in the sixth. Milwaukee responded the next inning by loading the bases with no outs. One out later, Yelich hit a ball down the third base line off Carmen Mlodzinski (7-7) which brought home the go-ahead runs. Christian Yelich’s two-run single in the seventh inning was the game-winning hit as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Wednesday night, erasing a 4-3 deficit.
Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe singled in the bottom of the frame, but Shane Drohan induced an inning-ending double play from Bryan Reynolds to escape the jam. Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill combined for the final six outs in the first win for the Brewers (95-57) since they clinched their fourth straight National League Central division title on Tuesday night. Megill recorded his 28th save. Antonio Senzatela (11-5) got the win for Milwaukee after recording the final out of the sixth.
Andrew Vaughn, Cooper Pratt and Brice Turang had an RBI each. Milwaukee hit four straight singles to mount a two-out rally in the second and open the scoring. Vaughn and Pratt provided RBI knocks in the bottom two spots of the lineup after Joey Ortiz and Luis Lara reached to spark the two-run inning. Oneil Cruz cut the Brewers’ lead in half with a 113-mph liner over the fence in right field to lead off the fourth. Turang responded in the fifth with an RBI double in the right-center gap to score Pratt, who singled and stole second to start the inning. The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Lowe’s home run, while Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe and Rafael Flores Jr. homered in consecutive innings to put the Pirates ahead 4-3 in the sixth.
Chasing Franchise History and a 100-Win Milestone
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, the MLB-leading Brewers (95-57) are within two victories of matching the franchise record set just last season, and need to play .500 baseball the rest of the way to become the NL Central’s first 100-win team since the 2016 Cubs. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy played all his regulars. The Brewers have the best record in the majors at 95-57 and hope to finish atop the overall standings to earn home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Milwaukee has won seven of its past eight games.
The Pirates, who have lost four of five, have hit a franchise-record 174 home runs this season, breaking the previous mark of 171 in 1998. Shortstop Konnor Griffin was 2-for-5 with a double. Both starting pitchers, Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson and Pittsburgh’s Jared Jones, allowed three runs in five innings. Jones struck out nine and Henderson fanned eight. Logan Henderson delivering his 22nd career start of three or fewer runs. Henderson has given up three runs or fewer in each of his first 22 career starts, one shy of the major league record set by Zac Gallen from 2019-20 with Miami and Arizona.
Community Leadership Recognized Off the Field
Contributing to an incredible 22-0 Milwaukee Brewers victory wasn’t outfielder Christian Yelich’s only win on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Earlier in the day, the 2018 National League MVP was announced as another kind of MVP − a Most Valuable Philanthropist. The Players Trust, the longtime charitable arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association, bestowed the honor upon Yelich – with a commemorative giant chain, no less. The MLBPA is the union that represents MLB teams’ major and minor league players.
Christian's dedication to using his platform for good is inspiring and demonstrates the impact players can have within their communities,
said former Brewers pitcher Chris Capuano, chair of the Players Trust board of trustees, in a news release. We are proud to honor his commitment and sense of stewardship by naming him Most Valuable Philanthropist for August.
Obviously, you don't do the charity work and all that to be recognized with awards or anything like that,
Yelich said in an Instagram video about the honor, posted by the MLBPA. But, it's nice that, you know, the Players Trust saw what we were doing in Milwaukee and just trying to help people out. Help the community that supports us throughout the year. It's special for me.
The release shouted-out Christian and the Yelich family’s annual Home Plate Charity Concert, which held its fourth installment in May. As part of the honor, the Players Trust will provide a $10,000 grant that will be split between two organizations chosen by Yelich: Heartland Farm Sanctuary in Wisconsin and Snooty Giggles Dog Rescue in Middle Tennessee.
I am extremely excited to be able to help two organizations that help animals in the community,
Yelich said. As someone with a deep love and affinity for animals, this is a truly special opportunity to do my part.
Up next, the series concludes Thursday afternoon with LHP Kyle Harrison (10-4, 3.98 ERA) starting for the Brewers. The Pirates were undecided on a starter.
