Brewers stumble to 12-5 loss in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Adam Frazier and Jacob Stallings homered and drove in three runs apiece, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates pound the Milwaukee Brewers 12-5 on Saturday.

Pittsburgh collected 14 hits for the second straight day, good enough for its first win streak since last September. Gregory Polanco had a home run and a double for his first two-hit game in 15 months. Colin Moran doubled three times, and Erik Gonzalez chipped in a two-run double in the seventh as the Pirates batted around against Milwaukee’s suddenly vulnerable bullpen.

Pittsburgh’s nine extra-base hits were a season high, and its run total matched the most surrendered by the Brewers this year.

Derek Holland (1-1) surrendered one run in five innings in his 300th major league appearance. The veteran left-hander allowed four hits in his first victory as a starter since April 9, 2019, for San Francisco.

The Pirates entered the weekend with the worst record in the major leagues after dropping 14 of 16. Their sputtering offense, however, has found a semblance of a groove against the Brewers. Pittsburgh’s 19 runs against Milwaukee in the first two games of the series is one less than the club managed over its previous seven games combined.

Polanco, who came in hitting .085 in his return to the lineup following an injury-marred 2019, drilled a two-run homer off Josh Lindblom (1-1) in the third. Frazier led off the fifth with his fourth homer, and Stallings hit a two-run shot in the sixth as the Pirates built a six-run lead.

Keston Hiura drilled a three-run homer in the seventh off Pittsburgh reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, pulling Milwaukee within three. The Pirates responded in the bottom of the inning by sending nine runners to the plate, highlighted by Gonzalez’s big swing.

Lindblom, signed as a free agent last December following five years in the Korean Baseball Organization, failed to make it through five innings for the third time in five starts. Lindblom gave up three runs in four innings, nudging his ERA to 6.65 as Milwaukee lost for the fourth time in five games.

MOVING ON

The Brewers designated veteran utility infielder Brock Holt for assignment after the former All-Star struggled to gain any traction at the plate. Hock hit just .100 (3 for 30) after signing a free agent deal with Milwaukee in February that included a club option for 2021.

“At this point we didn’t feel like we were getting anywhere,” manager Craig Counsell said. “So we’re going to try something different. That’s the point we reached with Brock, unfortunately. He’s a really good teammate. However this affected him, it just didn’t work I guess is the best way to say it.”

Milwaukee filled Holt’s spot on the roster by recalling Jace Peterson. The Brewers are Peterson’s fifth team. He hit .220 in 29 games with the Orioles in 2019.

Peterson entered in the eighth and grounded out in his only at-bat.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Closer Keone Kela was re-examined after leaving five pitches into an appearance on Friday night due to right forearm tightness. The team will re-assess Kela’s throwing status next week.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 3.00 ERA) makes his sixth appearance and third start of the season in the series finale Sunday.

Pirates: Rookie RHP JT Brubaker (0-0, 4.91 ERA) will make his third big league start. Brubaker has yet to pitch more than three innings in any appearance this season.