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On Wednesday it was left-hander Randy Wolf's turn to get knocked around, to the tune of 12 earned runs on 13 hits in a 15-3 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park. Wolf set dubious career highs for runs allowed and hits, and his outing marked the third time in four games that a Brewers starter was touched for 10 runs. It's also the second straight night it happened, though five of the Pirates' runs off Dave Bush on Tuesday were unearned...
↵The Elias Sports Bureau searched for a less-effective four-game stretch of starting pitching and they had to go back to 1937, when Oral Hildebrand, Chief Hogsett and Jim Walkup surrendered at least 10 runs each in three straight games for the 108-loss St. Louis Browns. Hildebrand and Hogsett were torched in a July 5 doubleheader, and Walkup didn't have any better luck four days later...
↵Under normal circumstances, Wolf would have been long gone before the Pirates reached double digits. But the bullpen was depleted after its recent run of overwork... Wolf volunteered after the fifth inning to continue to pitch. He lasted only two more outs.
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One of the more striking aspects of the last couple of games is how long the Brewers left their starters out there even though they were getting torched. Most of the time, if a starter allows seven or eight runs, he's gone. On Tuesday, Dave Bush allowed nine runs in the first inning, and the Brewers actually sent him out to bat in the second despite having a couple of runners on base and a chance to get back into the game. The Brewers will send their ace Yovani Gallardo out tonight - it would be excellent if the Pirates were able to stick it to him, too.