Perez, Nieuwenhuis homer to lift Brewers
MILWAUKEE -- Home runs from Hernan Perez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis were the difference as the Milwaukee Brewers held on for a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday evening at Miller Park.
Brewers starter Chase Anderson (6-10) lasted only five innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out a season-high seven.
The Pirates got strong six innings from Jameson Taillon (2-2), who only allowed two runs on six hits and didn't walk a batter while striking out six.
Perez, moved up to the No. 3 spot when Ryan Braun was scratched from the lineup with tightness in his right side, finished with three hits and three RBIs. He put the Brewers on the board with a two-run homer in the first off Taillon, who settled in after that and allowed two base runners over the next four innings.
The Pirates didn't do themselves any favors, squandering their few early chances with some base running blunders. Starling Marte led off the second with a double but ended the inning getting caught trying to steal third.
An RBI single by Jung Ho Kang made it 2-1 in the fourth, but Marte got caught in a rundown and Kang was tagged out at the plate trying to score from second.
Scooter Gennett and Perez added insurance runs with back-to-back RBI singles in the seventh. Gregory Polanco got one of those runs back in the eighth with a two-out solo home run off Will Smith, but Nieuwenhuis followed with his fifth of the homestand in the bottom of the inning.
Jeremy Jeffress gave up a two-out RBI single to Jody Mercer in the ninth before earning his 26th save.
NOTES: The Pirates traded RHP Mark Melancon to Washington on Saturday in exchange for LHPs Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn. Melancon spent four years with Pittsburgh, going 10-10 with a 1.80 ERA and 130 saves. Rivero, 25, is 0-3 with a 4.53 ERA and one save in 47 appearances for the Nationals this season. Hearn, 21, is a combined 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA for Washington's Rookie level Gulf Coast League and Single-A affiliates. ... Milwaukee C Jonathan Lucroy, the subject of multiple trade rumors as the Monday non-waiver deadline approaches, was held out of the starting lineup, though manager Craig Counsell said there was no deal in place but that talks were "progressing" for GM David Stearns. ... The Brewers have dominated the Pirates in the last decade, posting a 102-56 record -- including a 63-17 mark at Miller Park -- since the start of the 2007 season, giving them the second-highest winning percentage by one team against a division opponent during that stretch.