Pirates, Brewers Narrowly Avoid Diamonds, Split Evenly

Here is what I don't understand.

I should be calling this series a net win basically. Steve took 3 of 4 from me earlier in the year, I needed to win at least 2 against him tonight to keep moving. With one win I'd have accumulated more wins than the Brewers did all season last year, which was all I wanted out of this season. I did it, and moved to 29-39 with 5 series' left. Those are all good things.

But I'm looking at some of these box scores, and I'm going '...how on earth did I win these games?' The two wins were tight, one was won in extras. Steve did not get rolls for the first two games, and I sort of cobbled together runs in both, which, for those keeping score at home, is honestly the definition of 'smoke and mirrors', far more than 'being an insanely good manager with an okay team' is. 

The part I really don't get...well, we'll get to that later. See if you can figure it out during the writeup. It'll be the 'what's wrong with this picture' game. 

Still, Steve and I split in a tight series between two like-minded teams [read: two teams that aren't hitting right now], and had a ton of fun via Teams. Here now the writeup:

Game 1: Brewers 3, Pirates 2

W: Ben Lively

L: Jared Jones

SV: Pierce Johnson

Through 4, this game was scoreless. Ben Lively and Jared Jones were working clinics. Similarly, both Steve and I kept messing up split rolls. In Milwaukee the diamonds were to 13/16 this game, and we were not getting any. Steve wasn't even getting steals for Jazz Chisholm, one of the best base-stealers in the game. In inning 1, he went and rolled a 20 on a 1-19. It was unbelievable. Lots of men left on, lots of bad rolling.

In the fifth, the Brewers struck, with some small balling to crowd the bases and an ungodly error from Joey Meneses scoring two runs. Then Jackson Chourio doubled J.P. Crawford home. Given a better first baseman it may not have happened. 

Lively, however, kept rolling, with one of his best starts of the year, going 6 strong with 3 Ks and only 4 hits. No runs allowed. Fittingly, the guy who'd come in for Lively would give up a run, as John King would keep singling people til a run scored. Then in the ninth, Pierce Johnson gave up another double to Thairo Estrada and got Alec Bohm home, bringing it to 3-2. Ultimately, Ozzie Albies grounded out to end it, making this a win I truly had to fight for. 

Game 2: Brewers 2, Pirates 1 (F/10)

W: Victor Vodnik

L: Carson Spiers

Another close one. Both starters had incredible days. Despite me putting as many lefty hitters in my lineup as possible, Luis Castillo only gave up 1 run on an sac-grounder from Blake Perkins. Lots of Brewers got on with Castillo rolling, but only Travis d'Arnaud made it home. Meanwhile, Jameson Taillon [who's been brilliant this half] only allowed one run on a Thairo Estrada solo homer, and otherwise had a 3-hit day through 8. Both teams kept runners on all night, and both pitching staffs got out of every scrape. So yes, this one went to extras. Which means I had to hope I didn't waste my bullpen. Thankfully Victor Vodnik went 2 strong innings and didn't outdo his capacity for the series. 

I'm still amazed that I won this, because a lot had to happen. With Carson Spiers on in the 10th, a runner got on via a HBP. Then Gavin Lux hit a two star single to get him to third. Isaac Paredes rolled into a grounder to 3rd, but with an A+, meaning the runner scored thanks to where Steve was playing his infielders. Meaning I squeaked away with a win due to an RBI to the infield. I'm still blown over by this. That was my 'check please' for the series, which explains the next 2 games.

Game 3- Pirates 2, Brewers 0

W: Freddy Peralta

L: Bailey Falter

SV: Phil Maton

Look, YOU try hitting Freddy Peralta. My team's had trouble with all sorts of mediocre righties, so of course a good righty with even luck was gonna cause me trouble. Peralta went 7 innings, and only gave up 2 hits, both singles, while striking out 6. It was a masterful performance, and a pitiful one by the Brewers' lineup. Truth be told, Bailey Falter didn't do too badly, but Alec Bohm and Jazz Chisholm doubled home some runs in the fourth and that was all the Pirates needed. As he put Maton on, Steve remarked that he hadn't really come across a save situation in a while. Against the Brewers he always seems to find them. 

Game 4: Pirates 9, Brewers 5 [what a way to make a living]

W: Lance Lynn

L: Carlos Rodon

SV: Phil Maton

If you want any piece of evidence that the luck had shifted midway through the series, I refer you to this game, where, despite Lance Lynn being late-career, riding out a one-year deal for the hell of it Lance Lynn, the Brewers couldn't hit him even if he was a foot in front of them. 6 Ks, 4 hits and no runs in 5 innings. Not since Arizona's Ryan Feltner have I been more embarrassed to not score anything off a pitcher. It didn't quite get to Feltner levels [that game I was basically Krusty the Clown in the episode where he bets on the Washington Generals, frantically shouting at the TV "HE'S SPINNING THE BALL ON HIS FINGER! JUST TAKE IT!"], but I really should have been able to hit Lynn. I hit Jared Jones, but not Lance Lynn, wild.

Anyway, Carlos Rodon's terrible start in Brewers colors continued, giving up 7 runs in the first 2 innings, all on homers. Now somebody was hitting the diamonds, and it was Steve. Cody Bellinger hit a 3-run bomb in the 1st, then Rowdy Tellez hit a 2 run one that same inning, and in the 2nd Ozzie Albies hit a 2-run bomb. Even if I'd have been able to hit Lance Lynn, I wouldn't have caught him. That and some small-ball in the 7th put it out of reach for me.

Let the record show that I did score some late runs, with some contact work by the latter third of the lineup in the 7th and some insane rallying from a pinch-hit Michael Conforto double in the bottom of the ninth. It was all for nought, but it was fun to corner Steve into a save situation on a game that was once 9-0. 

So, did any of you notice what was missing? I'll give you a hint: the whole series, diamonds were 11 and up [in Milwaukee], and on two occasions Steve pitched a lefty reliever against Heliot Ramos. Yet you know what the Brewers didn't do at all this series, despite those 2 wins?

They did not hit a single home run. Not even one. 

I contacted my way forward, which is at the very least a cool thing to say about a team built around power. But to see Heliot Ramos have a 3 hit game that's just 3 singles when he could be hitting that middle 2 column, or to see Jeimer Candelario consistently notch the same spot on his 2 column that's an out hidden between a ton of power hits, was extremely exhausting. I really let an evenly-matched series in my park come down to contact hitting.

What a team this has been.