The Brewers had a chance to steady themselves behind Brandon Sproat, but instead the night unraveled fast in a 4-3 loss to the Pirates.
Sproat never found a rhythm, and the trouble came in waves. He worked around damage in the first after getting two outs, then finally posted his first 1-2-3 inning since June 30.
That brief clean frame didn’t last. In the third, he again got within one out of escaping, only to give up consecutive singles and a walk that loaded the bases.
Spencer Horwitz followed with a double that emptied them and handed Pittsburgh three runs.
The fourth inning brought the kind of collapse that can’t be ignored. Endy Rodriguez opened with a single, and then Jacob Gonzalez stepped in.
Sproat threw one wild pitch, then another. After the second, Pat Murphy was already out of the dugout and headed to the mound to take the ball away.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. The kid is great.
He’s got so much potential, he really does. But, again, two out walks, thinkgs like that, the big misses, wild pitches, that stuff you got to keep under control.”
Murphy’s message was clear, and so was the tone of the night. Garrett Stallings tried to hold things together and did his part, throwing three scoreless innings to keep Milwaukee within reach.
The offense eventually chipped away. Bubba Chandler allowed plenty of hard contact, but the Brewers couldn’t turn that into results until the fifth, when David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz delivered singles to get Milwaukee on the board.
In the sixth, Jackson Chourio drew a leadoff walk, then came around on hits from Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn’s single had a little extra help too, as Bauers was aggressive taking the turn and benefited when the throw bounced away, allowing him to score and cut the Pirates’ lead to one before Chandler was pulled.
Milwaukee had another opening in the seventh. With runners on first and second and one out, Christian Yelich and William Contreras came up with a chance to flip the game. Instead, both struck out, and the Brewers never got another runner into scoring position against Pittsburgh’s bullpen.
There was also a messy moment in the fourth when a Pirates bunt created confusion on defense. Contreras called for a throw to first instead of covering for a possible play at the plate, and the result was everybody safe.
For the Brewers, it was a night of missed chances. For Sproat, it was another outing that raised even bigger questions about where he fits next. He could soon be on the outside looking in, not just for the rotation, but possibly for the big league roster altogether.
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In his recent start, Sproat gave up four runs in three-plus innings, a rough line at a time when the Brewers are trying to sort out their long-term mix on the mound. Pat Murphy and the teams decision-makers are expected to meet with Sproat soon to talk through the next steps, and the discussion figures to be as much about opportunity as it is about performance. For a club trying to balance immediate needs with keeping its arms lined up, this is the kind of choice that can shape the rest of the pitching plan. [Read more 🡒]
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Brewers officials did not hide their disappointment, though they also treated the negotiations as the kind of complicated process that often stays partially behind closed doors. Manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold both underscored how aggressively the club went after Skubal, a sign the Brewers were willing to make a meaningful swing even if the final cost never became public. [Read more 🡒]