ROAD COLLISION
Brewers drop opener of 10-game road swing
PITTSBURGH - The Milwaukee Brewers’ big 10-game road trip got off to a tough start on Monday night.
Not only did they drop a 4-2 decision to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, they also lost catcher Stephen Vogt after he was involved in a collision at home plate in the fifth inning.
The early diagnoses were a strained neck and strained left knee for the veteran, who was felled after Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl ran into him while trying to score the go-ahead run on a Francisco Cervelli single.
“We’re day to day right now,” manager Craig Counsell said. “His neck, he’s just going to be a little sore. But we’re more concerned about the knee.
“It was a pretty good collision. We’ll have to see how he’s doing tomorrow.”
Travis Shaw singled, doubled, scored both runs and also had another solid game defensively at third to lead the Brewers, while starter Brent Suter allowed seven hits, two runs and two walks to go along with a pair of strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.
Milwaukee has now lost two straight for the first time since June 27-28.
Kuhl opened the game by striking out five of six batters. But the lone Brewer to make contact, Shaw, singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and then scored on Orlando Arcia’s single to center.
Shaw also doubled to right to lead off the fourth. He moved to third on a Domingo Santana fly ball and then scored with a terrific slide on a grounder to first by Vogt, getting in just under the tag of Cervelli after a high throw by Josh Bell.
Suter, making his third start in place of the injured Chase Anderson, allowed only a walk
and a pair of singles through the fourth before Pittsburgh finally got to him in the fifth.
José Osuna opened by singling and scored one batter later on Gregory Polanco’s double to center. Arcia’s relay throw home was errant, allowing Polanco to go to third and he scored a batter later on Jordy Mercer’s sacrifice fly to tie it at 2-2.
Kuhl, Josh Harrison and Cervelli all followed with singles, with Cervelli’s leading to the collision at home. Santana’s throw arrived home at roughly the same time as Kuhl, and his shoulder made contact with Vogt’s head while Vogt’s left leg got twisted underneath him as both players fell to the ground.
Vogt hung onto the ball for the out, but he didn’t make it to his feet for nearly 10 minutes afterward. After being examined by the Brewers’ training staff, Vogt walked off the field under his own power and was replaced by Manny Piña.
“Very, very lucky to not have a concussion,” Vogt said afterward. “Obviously, that was nasty. Ball got there the same time he did. I haven’t watched the replay and I don’t know if I will, but I don’t know much I could have done different.
“Fortunately I was able to hold on. Hopefully I’ll feel better here in the next few days.”
Vogt had X-rays at PNC Park and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning.
“I don’t feel like there’s anything structurally wrong,” Vogt said. “I just feel like I got hit pretty hard. I had a concussion in 2012, and I’ve gotten hit pretty much once or twice a year.
“It’s part of the game. ... There was nothing he did wrong and nothing I did wrong. It was just a perfect storm of the ball getting there at the same time.”
The Brewers already needed to make one roster move in order to reinstate Tuesday’s starter Junior Guerra from the disabled list. With Vogt down, the Brewers have only Piña and emergency catcher Hernán Pérez, meaning Jett Bandy could be returning if Vogt is expected to miss more than a few days.
“We’ll assess it,” Counsell said. “It’s tough to tell right now.”
Pittsburgh went ahead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning against Josh Hader (1-1) when Bell doubled to center, moved to third and scored on a Polanco bloop double to left.
The Brewers went on to load the bases against Tony Watson in the seventh, but with two outs Piña tapped back to the mound.
The Pirates tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on three consecutive two-out singles against Tyler Webb.
Seven of Milwaukee’s eight hits were singles.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Anderson is still traveling with the Brewers, but Counsell said it’ll be a while yet until he’s able to begin throwing off a mound. Anderson has been on the disabled list since June 29 with a strained left oblique.
“I would say we’re moving along with Chase,” Counsell said. “The trainers have been very encouraged by his progress. But I don’t think you’ll see him on the mound until the next home stand, at the soonest.”
Yadiel Rivera has been a forgotten man. He played three innings at third base on the day he was recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs on July 6, but he hasn’t seen an at-bat or an inning in the field since. STAT SHEET
Jonathan Villar’s eight-game hitting streak came to an end after an 0for-5 night.
Relievers Jared Hughes (13 games, 12 1/3 innings), Oliver Drake (10, 8 1/3) and Jacob Barnes (eight, eight) are all on scoreless streaks in the Brewers’ bullpen.
TAKEAWAY
Milwaukee’s offense has gone cold over the past few games, something we haven’t seen in recent weeks. The injury to Vogt is something that bears watching moving forward.
NEXT GAME
Tuesday: Brewers at Pirates, 6:05 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (1-3, 4.78) vs. Pittsburgh RHP Ivan Nova (9-6, 3.21). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.