A Look At The Brewers Recent Losing Streak

The Pirates are hosting the Brewers for a quick 2-game series starting tonight. So far the Pirates are 2-4 against the Brew Crew this year. You all remember the brutal pounding the Brewers put on the Pirates the last time they came to PNC, beating the Bucs by a combined score of 36-1. However, a much better memory for Pirates fans comes when you think about the second series of the year, when the Pirates won 2 of 3 games in Miller Park.

It's a brand new slate tonight though, as the Pirates have been playing pretty solid baseball, and the Brewers have been playing terribly. Normally it's the Pirates heading into a series like this on a long losing streak, but this time the Brewers are at that end of the line. Milwaukee has lost 8 games in a row and are playing their worst baseball of the year.

The Brewers streak started in Atlanta, when they were swept away by the struggling Braves. The Brewers lost by a combined score of 28-7. 2 of 3 Brewers starters were tagged with losses that series (Manny Parra and Dave Bush), but Yovani Gallardo looked pretty good in his start going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs. The biggest problem with the Brewers pitching that series was the walks. They surrendered 19 free passes in those 27 innings. The offense wasn't terrible, collecting 23 hits, but they couldn't really get the big hits they needed to compete.

Next, the Brewers got swept in a 3-game series by the Philadelphia Phillies. This one wasn't as bad as the Braves sweep, as they lost by the combined score of 23-13. The Brewers starters struggled against the Phillies big time offense, and they lost all 3 of the decisions. In the first game, Randy Wolf (who starts tonight) gave up 6 runs in 5 innings. Next, Chris Narveson (tomorrow's starter) gave up 4 runs in 5.1 innings, while striking out 9. In the third game, Dave Bush got his 2nd straight loss in this streak by giving up only 3 runs on 6 innings. However, Cole Hamels was better that night and beat him. The walks were better for the Brewers pitchers, they only walked 10 in the 3 games, which still isn't good but a lot better than the previous series. The offense collected a pretty impressive 27 hits in the series. It's obvious that the offense isn't really the problem.

The last 2 games the Brewers have lost to the Reds by a combined score of 11-7. The bullpen was the big problem in this series, as they gave up 9 of those 11 runs. Trevor Hoffman was the biggest story in yesterdays game, as he blew his 5th save of the year and gave up 4 runs without recording an out. The offense collected 19 more hits in those two games. Clearly, the offense has been just fine for the most part, they are getting all kinds of hits but just haven't put a big enough number on the board to keep up with the awful pitching they have been getting.

So all-in-all the Brewers have been outscored 62 to 27 in the last 8 games. The Pirates problem this year has been the inability to hit the baseball, which plays right into the Brewers game right now. They have been hitting well but pitching poorly. The Brewers starters could get some confidence back by getting a lot of Pirates out even when they aren't throwing the best pitches in this quick 2 game set. The offense is going to keep hitting the ball regardless of who is on the mound, so the Pirates just need to bring their bats the next two games. With Brian Burres pitching tonight, that is especially crucial. The good news is that Ryan Braun is cold right now, he is only 2 for his last 22 (.182). He is the one who normally does the most damage to the Pirates, so it would be a boost if we could keep him off the bases this series.

It gets started tonight at 7:05 with Brian Burres taking on Randy Wolf. The Buccos need to win 1 of these games to stay ahead of the Brewers in the standings, and I would be surprised if we didn't do at least just that. The Pirates should really be aiming for a quick sweep of the Brew Crew, and it shouldn't be too challenging if they play how they have been playing lately.

It would also help if they keep Akinori Iwamura out of the lineup the next two days...

Let's Go Bucs.