W: Dave Bush (1-0)
L: Charlie Morton (0-3)
PIT HR: None
MIL HR: Corey Hart (2)
Now this is how you take advantage of a large early lead.
For the second time in as many games, the Brewers jumped ahead in the first inning, only this time, they got 7 innings of solid pitching from Dave Bush.
Bush finally got credit for his first win of the season, even though tonight was arguably the worst of his three starts this season. With that said, it wasn’t even that bad — he only allowed three hits and didn’t allow a run, but he did walk four and seemed to lack his usual pinpoint control. Chris Narveson and Manny Parra threw the final two innings of the game, with Narveson giving up the Pirates’ lone run on a Lastings Milledge double.
Brian and Bill joked on the broadcast tonight that maybe the Brewers took Livan Hernandez’s shutout personally, as they’ve been tearing the cover off the ball ever since. After tagging Jason Marquis for 7 runs and 0 outs recorded on Sunday, Milwaukee chased Charlie Morton with no outs in the 2nd inning, ultimately hanging 6 runs on him (5 earned). WHYGAVS noted during the game that this was actually an improvement for Morton, which tells you just how bad he’s been to start the year.
Just like Sunday, the Brewers scored their runs largely without the benefit of home runs. Corey Hart did homer for the Brewers, but it was a solo shot that capped off the Brewers’ scoring for the night. The only other extra-base hits that produced runs for the Brewers were Ryan Braun’s RBI double in the first and Rickie Weeks’ RBI triple in the third.
It’s probably also worth noting that the announced attendance for the game was a paltry 9,386 — less than 25% of PNC Park’s capacity, according to the ESPN box score. Sure, the Penguins are playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but that’s just sad and a real shame, considering how great the ballpark itself is. Hopefully the Pirates can start winning and filling those seats.
…at least after the Brewers leave town. Yovani Gallardo pitches game two tomorrow.
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