Brewers at Pirates
The Milwaukee Brewers' rally fell short in the finale of a homestand, sending them into Monday's opener of a three-game series at the Pittsburgh Pirates on a sour note. The Brewers took the opener of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies by a 13-2 margin before falling Saturday and then dropping a 10-9 decision in the last meeting.
The Brewers scored four times in the ninth and saw Christian Yelich's long drive caught for the final out, capping a 3-3 homestand. "We thought he went deep, the way it looked off the bat," first baseman Eric Thames - who slugged two homers in the loss - told reporters. "We were close to tying that game." The Pirates won three in a row before Sunday's 8-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. They will try to bounce back behind struggling right-hander Trevor Williams, who takes on Milwaukee's Jhoulys Chacin in the opener.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jhoulys Chacin (6-1, 3.32 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Trevor Williams (5-4, 4.38)
Three of Chacin's last five outings have been of the scoreless variety, including a six-inning effort in a win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. He has won his last six decisions and opponents are hitting .227 overall against the 30-year-old. Chacin limited the Pirates to one run in six innings in their one encounter this season to improve to 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA in seven career matchups.
Williams lasted just three innings in each of his last two starts, giving up 12 runs (seven earned) and 10 hits with four walks in that span. That stretch extended his streak of outings without a quality start to five, during which the Arizona State product is 0-2 with an 8.57 ERA. Orlando Arcia and Domingo Santana are both 3-for-6 against Williams, who has a 3.29 ERA in three career games (two starts) against Milwaukee.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates RF Gregory Polanco was 3-for-28 over a span of 11 games before going 3-for-3 on Sunday.
2. Brewers 1B Jesus Aguilar was 4-for-9 with two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Phillies.
3. Pittsburgh C Francisco Cervelli is 0-for-13 over a five-game stretch.