The Pirates squeaked by the Brewers in a wild game at Miller Park on Monday. The Bucs rarely win in Milwaukee, and they showed every indication of blowing this game, as well.
They jumped out to an early lead when Alex Presley hit an upper-deck solo homer in the first. By the end of the second inning - which featured RBI singles by Pedro Alvarez and Presley - the Pirates were up 4-1.
The Brewers scored two runs off Charlie Morton in the fourth inning, but the Pirates increased their lead to 7-3 in the fifth with a two-run, opposite-field double by Alvarez and a run scored on a wild pitch.
The Brewers fought back, however, and eventually tied the game at eight in the bottom of the sixth, as six straight batters reached base with two outs.
The Pirates re-took the lead in the seventh on a double by Presley, and held on in the late innings even as Jason Grilli loaded the bases in the eighth and Joel Hanrahan allowed Carlos Gomez to get to third with no outs in the ninth. Neil Walker gunned him down at the plate for the second out, and Hanrahan got George Kottaras to end it.
This is the Pirates' last series of the year, so it obviously isn't an incredibly relevant game, but it certainly was an exciting one. The Pirates' offense was very productive after spending most of the past two months in a coma - who knew they had it in them?