Pirates blank Brewers 9-0 behind Kuhl
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers bring out the best in Chad Kuhl.
Kuhl and Richard Rodriguez combined on a two-hitter, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Brewers 9-0 on Sunday.
Kuhl is 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA in six starts against the Brewers, and the Pirates are unbeaten in those games.
“There were a few games last year that really stand out,” Kuhl said. “This is up there, just for the amount of weak contact and all that. It was one of my better ones, for sure.”
Former Mississippi State player Adam Frazier, Jordy Mercer and Josh Bell hit solo homers for the Pirates.
Kuhl (4-2) allowed one hit in seven innings, struck out eight and walked two, lowering his ERA from 5.01 to 4.12. Domingo Santana singled in the second and was erased on a double play.
“His secondary pitch command today was as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “His fastball probably had the most finish we’ve seen this season.”
Kuhl settled in after going to three balls on each of the first four batters.
“He’s got a real good arm. He’s throwing hard. There was obviously no pressure on him at all today,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Rodriguez struck out his first four batters, allowed Hernan Perez’s single up the middle, then stuck out his final two hitters.
Chase Anderson (3-3) gave up five runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Anderson has given up 10 home runs in 45 1/3 innings, after allowing 14 all last season in 141 1/3 innings.
“When you don’t hit your spots and you pitch in a place like this, and if the ball’s up a little bit, balls are going to tend to fly out of the park,” Anderson said.
Frazier hit his first leadoff homer, his second home run this season, and Corey Dickerson added an RBI double later in the inning.
Mercer’s first homer since Sept. 11 made it 3-0 in the second. The Pirates added four runs in the sixth on a leadoff triple by Starling Marte and five consecutive one-out singles. Dickerson, Colin Moran, Mercer and Chad Kuhl drove in runs.
Bell homered in the seventh against Jorge Lopez. “There was not much good to report about today’s game,” Counsell said.
Ian Desmond hit a pair of solo homers, including a tiebreaking drive in the eighth inning that sent the Rockies over the sagging Mets for their season-high fifth straight win.
The Mets finished an 0-6 homestand, getting swept by Atlanta and Colorado, in which they were outscored 34-11 and shut out three times.
Desmond homered off Noah Syndergaard in the second. He hit his sixth homer with two outs in the eighth off Hansel Robles (2-1).
Kyle Freeland (2-4) gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight, walked one and retired 21 of the last 23 batters he faced.
Adam Ottavino earned his first save of the season.
ATLANTA — Andrew Suarez outpitched Mike Soroka in a rookie matchup, and San Francisco survived Atlanta’s ninthinning rally for a win and the Giants’ first series sweep of the Braves in four years.
Suarez (1-1) allowed only one unearned run and seven hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.
The Braves rallied with two runs off closer Hunter Strickland in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki’s double drove in Jose Bautista, who singled. Ender Inciarte’s groundout drove in Johan Camargo, before Ozzie Alibies popped out to end the game. Strickland earned his eighth save.
Soroka (1-1) lasted only four innings in his first home start, allowing four runs.
WASHINGTON — Max Scherzer struck out 15 in only 6 1/3 innings, and the Nationals then rallied for two runs in the ninth to beat the Phillies.
Scherzer and Phillies starter Jake Arrieta, who have combined to win the last three NL Cy Young Awards, kept things close into the late innings before both bullpens faltered.
Philadelphia closer Hector Neris (1-2) took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but didn’t get an out. He walked pinch hitter Pedro Severino with the bases loaded to tie it and Wilmer Difo fol-
lowed with a winning single.
Sean Doolittle (1-1) pitched the ninth to get the win. Ross Stripling at the start of the inning.
Lauer (1-1) lost at Colorado in his major league debut on April 24 and did not get a decision when he started six days later at San Francisco. third-inning opposite-field homer to left snapped Cincinnati’s 18-inning scoreless streak.
Each team committed two errors with both of Miami’s coming in the ninth.