The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen allowed a lead to slip away in a 7-5 walk-off win for the Milwaukee Brewers last night in the opening game of a three-game series. The Pirates fell behind 3-0 in the third inning before Oneil Cruz hit a hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning. Rodolfo Castro hit his fifth home run of the year in the sixth inning to give the Bucs a 5-3 lead, but Duane Underwood and Wil Crowe allowed four runs in the final two innings, handing the Brewers the victory.
Cruz has now homered in three of his past four games against Milwaukee. He has homered five times in 10 games in his rookie season against the Brewers.
Prior to last night’s game, outfielder Jack Suwinski was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Suwinski was leading all National League rookies with 14 home runs this year, before being sent to the minors after an extended 0-for-28 hitless streak in July. He went 1-for-3 with a walk last night in his return.
The Bucs and Brewers play again tonight at 8:10pm. Pre-game on WISR begins at 7:45pm. The Pirates are now 48-80 overall, the third-worst record in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 694th home run of his career last night in the Cards 13-4 rout of Cincinnati. It was his 450th different pitcher that he hit a home run against, breaking a major league record set by Barry Bonds. The 42-year old Pujols now has 15 home runs this season.