Sportsnaut
Johan Oviedo pitched seven innings of two-hit, shutout baseball, and Connor Joe, Endy Rodriguez and Bryan Reynolds each homered to power the Pittsburgh Pirates to a split in their four-game road series against the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 on Sunday.
Oviedo (6-11) was dominant, allowing hits only to William Contreras with a single in the first and a double in the sixth.
The Brewers trailed 2-0 after Rodriguez’s third-inning solo home run and Joe’s blast in the fourth. Contreras tried to leg out his sixth-inning double into a triple.
He was gunned down when center fielder Jack Suwinski’s relay throw to Liover Puegero, and the infielder’s throw to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes came in ahead of Contreras’ head-first slide. Milwaukee never threatened again.
Oviedo recorded his second win in as many starts, and extended a stretch in which he has allowed only two runs over three starts and 20 innings. The win marked Ovideo’s 10th start with one or no runs allowed, second in the National League behind only Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres.
Pittsburgh doubled its lead and made hope of a Milwaukee rally more difficult in the eighth when Reynolds — pinch-hitting for Jared Triolo — crushed a pitch from J.C. Meija to also bring home Rodriguez. Rodriguez led off the inning with a single, part of his 3-for-4 day at the plate.
Rodriguez’s eight-inning single and a bunt single in the fifth, and Alfonso Rivas’ double in the fourth immediately following Joe’s solo home run, were the only Pirates hits not to go for home runs.
Four of Pittsburgh’s six hits came off Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff (1-1), who struck out nine in five innings but took the loss.
The other two hits came off of Meija, and provided the Pirates with some valuable cushion. Carmen Mlodzinski walked Contreras to open the ninth inning and gave up Carlos Santana’s single. Santanta advanced to third on Willy Adames’ fielder’s choice, then scored on Hayes’ throwing error.
Milwaukee got the tying run to the plate, but Mlodzinski forced Andruw Monasterio to fly out to preserve the Pittsburgh win.
Contreras went 2-for-3 for the Brewers. Santana went 1-for-4 and Brice Turang went 1-for-2 in the loss, Milwaukee’s seventh in its last 10 games.
–Field Level Media
