Pirates beat Brewers to end seven-game skid
PITTSBURGH -- Adam Frazier's two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning broke a tie as the Pittsburgh Pirates halted a seven-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
Frazier's homer, his sixth, came against Corey Knebel (1-3). It was his third career walk-off home run.
Frazier drove in four runs, and Starling Marte was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Pittsburgh (69-84), which had lost 12 of its previous 13.
The Pirates tied it 4-4 in the eighth when Andrew McCutchen doubled and scored an out later on Knebel's throwing error.
The Brewers (81-71) missed a chance to sweep the three-game series, as well as a chance to move into a tie with the Colorado Rockies for the second National League wild-card spot. They remain 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
Domingo Santana and Jesus Aguilar each hit solo homers for Milwaukee, which next has a four-game showdown at home against the Cubs.
Pirates closer Felipe Rivero (5-2) pitched the ninth.
Pittsburgh starter Steven Brault, coming off his first major league win last week, gave up two runs and four hits, with a walk and three strikeouts, in five innings. Two of the hits were homers.
In a preplanned move because there aren't enough starts to go around with the Pirates' collection of pitchers, Tyler Glasnow relieved Brault in the sixth.
Glasnow, trying to gain some traction in the major leagues after dominating in Triple-A, got out of the sixth OK. However, he walked four batters in the seventh, although pinch runner Quintin Berry was caught trying to steal second. Glasnow was charged with two runs without giving up a hit.
A.J. Schugel came on and gave up an RBI double to Eric Thames for a 3-3 tie, then walked Stephen Vogt -- the Brewers' fourth straight pinch hitter ---with the bases loaded to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead.
Milwaukee right-hander Aaron Wilkerson made his first career start. He faced the minimum through two innings but didn't make it out of the third, when he gave up three runs. Overall, he allowed four hits with one walk and no strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. He threw only 40 pitches.
Milwaukee got solo homers in the second and third innings.
Aguilar blasted a 440-footer, his 15th home run of the season, that landed in the Pirates' bullpen in center and then hopped through an open door.
In the third, Santana hit his second homer in as many nights, this one landing in the stands in right for a 2-0 Brewers lead. Santana's 27th homer came with two outs.
Pittsburgh broke a scoreless streak of 21 1/3 innings and took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third on Frazier's one-out, two-run triple off the wall in right and Marte's ensuing RBI single. Marte's hit chased Wilkerson.
NOTES: RHP Aaron Wilkerson was the 13th starter for Milwaukee this season. ... Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson, who underwent shoulder surgery Tuesday, will miss an undetermined amount of the 2018 season, GM David Stearns said. ... Pittsburgh LHP Felipe Rivero pitched the ninth, just his third appearance in 16 days.