Greinke, Brew dominate slumping Pirates

From Friday, August 12th, 2011
Brewers 7, Pirates 2
W: Greinke (11-4) L: Maholm (6-13)

Zack Greinke is officially in the form the Brewers expected him to be and the timing could not be better. With a month and a half left of the season, all Brewer pitchers must be hitting on all cylinders, especially the ones Milwaukee traded for.

Greinke had an outstanding game with all four pitches working great. In 7.2 innings he only allowed two earned runs on six hits, while striking out nine and walking one. Zack continued his dominance at Miller Park as hee is now 8-0 with a 3.36 ERA in 10 starts there. It is something about the atmosphere in Milwaukee that makes the Brewers want to win every game. It could ultimately be a very good thing if they can make it into the playoffs with home field advantage. We can already thank Prince Fielder for that if Milwaukee can miraculously make it to the World Series.

The offense was in good shape as the Brewer hitters clearly took out their frustration from last night's debacle in St. Louis. They took advantage of almost every opportunity given and got some insurance runs even when it did not seem necessary.

With two outs in the second inning and Casey McGehee on first, Josh Wilson hit a soft liner over the shortstops glove to give Milwaukee their first run of the game. Wilson is one of fourteen Brewer batters to chip in with run support over the past few weeks, a statistic that is humbling to any manager. It is no wonder the Brewers have won nine of their last 10 and continue to be the hottest team in baseball.

Milwaukee added to their lead the next inning when McGehee hit a sharp ball down the right field line that ended up at the wall. Ryan Braun and Fielder raced around the bases to score as Casey slid into third base with his second triple of the year.

Greinke continued to make Pirate batters look foolish, something he has done a lot this year. He said of all his pitches, his curveball was the reason why he was able to get so many hitters out. 

"That pitch, it was the best that pitch has felt in years," Greinke said.

A good curveball and high velocity fastballs spells disaster for any team, especially one that has been struggling as mightily as Pittsburgh has.

Braun led off the eighth inning with a towering solo shot that he will remember for a long time. It was a milestone home-run, the 150th of his career. Fielder followed with a monstrous homer of his own to pad Milwaukee's lead. Jonathan Lucroy chimed in with an RBI on a ground ball out that scored Yuniesky Betancourt.

Although Francisco Rodriguez did not score anybody, he did get the first hit of his career after barely beating a throw out at first. K-Rod was eventually removed from the game with cramps in both legs after running to first base.