Pirates' poor baserunning highlights 3-0 loss to Brewers

THE BIG STORY

The Pirates’ bats were silent Monday, but their base running did not help matters. Two of the final eight outs of the game came on baserunning errors when the team was down multiple runs.

The first came in the seventh inning. Rookie Elias Diaz hit a line drive down the right field line that got under the glove of Hernan Perez. Diaz tried to stretch it into a triple, but was thrown out for the second out of the inning.

“We’re in a situation where we’re down 2-0, and I was trying to be aggressive, help my team out,” Diaz said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “...Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

The second was the final out of the game. Gregory Polanco looped a ball into the gap and left and tried to stretch it into two, but was tagged out as well. The Pirates challenged the play, but it was quickly upheld.

Clint Hurdle said he felt both Diaz and Polanco were “trying to do something they were not capable of doing” to try to generate offense. That was not an excuse on their behalf, however.

“They’re unacceptable plays at this level,” Hurdle said. “At the end of the day, those aren’t good baseball plays and they aren’t plays that are going to help your team win. They know that after the fact. They need to know that before the fact.”

HOW THEY SCORED

Ryan Braun put the Brewers on the board with a fourth inning solo shot into the notch. Neil Walker made it 2-0 and chased starter Jameson Taillon in the sixth when he singled home Jonathan Villar. Travis Shaw drove home Walker in the eighth when he snuck a single under Jordy Mercer’s glove.

MOMENT THAT MATTERED

With two on and two out in the third, David Freese hit a ball to the wall that was hauled in by center fielder Brett Phillips. That was the last time the Pirates had multiple runners on base.

TOE THE RUBBER

Jameson Taillon made his return to the mound Monday after getting his last start skipped. He went five-plus innings and allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out four.

“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction. A 10 day layoff was probably a good idea,” Taillon said.

Taillon threw nine first pitch strikes to his 20 batters faced, retired three on three pitches or less and had five three-ball counts.

A.J. Schugel stranded two inherited runners in a scoreless sixth. Edgar Santana tossed a scoreless seventh before George Kontos allowed a run in the eighth. Johnny Barbato muscled through a scoreless ninth inning.

Brewers’ starter Brent Suter was pulled after five shutout innings, striking out four while allowing five hits: all singles. Corey Knebel picked up his 36th save of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth.

I SPY

Taillon only threw one first pitch strike to the last 10 batters he faced. That 0-1 count did not help him much, as he fell behind 3-1 later in the at-bat to Stephen Vogt. Vogt did eventually fly out that at-bat.

LINE OF THE NIGHT

Ryan Braun: 2-3, HR, BB, SB, R, RBI

HE SAID IT

“I decided to watch it because it went pretty far.”- Taillon on his mistake pitch he made to Braun for his home run. The 81 MPH hanging curve traveled an estimated 429 feet.

ON DECK

Trevor Williams (6-8, 4.26) will take the bump against Chase Anderson (10-3, 2.88) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m..

NUMB3RS

1. Taillon has not won a home start since July 20 (also against the Brewers).

2. Braun’s fourth inning home run snapped Taillon’s streak of four home starters without allowing a homer. He has allowed six in 73.2 innings this year (0.73 per nine innings).

3. Taillon went 1-2 at the dish Monday. He has four hits in his last five at-bats.