Down to the wire
Brewers pull out 6- 5 win with closer
The Brewers outlasted the Pirates, 6- 5, in the last game in August.
MILWAUKEE — With the trade deadline now passed, the Pirates finally will promote third- base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes, sources told the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette.
Hayes, 23, has been working out at satellite camp in Altoona. It’s likely, according to one source, that Hayes will make his major league debut when the Pirates play host Tuesday to the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.
“There’s a lot to like about Ke’Bryan,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Number one, his heartbeat’s good. I think he likes the lights, and what I mean by that is he likes to play in big atmospheres. His ability to play third base, I think I said earlier, came as advertised if not better.
“What really stood out to me was the aggressiveness of the swings, and it’s something that I think he took to working with [ hitting coach] Rick [ Eckstein] during spring training, and we saw it in spring training games.”
A first- round pick in 2015, Hayes hit .265/. 336/. 415 with Class AAA Indianapolis in 2019, with 10 home runs, 53 RBIs, 43 walks, 30 doubles and 12 stolen bases.
Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of former major leaguer Charlie Hayes, and defense has been the younger Hayes’ calling card. He has won three consecutive Gold Gloves in the minor leagues, while his fielding percentage of .989 in 2019 was the best for a third baseman at any level.
Over the past three years, Hayes committed just 17 errors in 331 games ( 872 chances).
Shelton was non- committal about how he might divvy up playing time moving forward. To be fair to Shelton, a good chunk of that might also be dictated by how well Hayes acclimates to major league life.
If he hits, he’ll play. If not, the Pirates likely need to use that time on someone else.
“It’s going to definitely impact it when he gets here, and it’s something that we’ll just have to work through on a daily basis,” Shelton said. “The fact that we have flexibility and guys to go to different spots, and now we’ve bumped [ Adam] Frazier into the outfield at times … we’ve seen [ JT] Riddle into the outfield at times, so we have different functionality to move forward.”
Hader holds on this time
The Pirates caught Brewers closer Josh Hader on an off night Saturday, when the hard- throwing left- hander walked five and gave up a lead. There was no such luck this time around, as he and the Brewers made quick work of the Pirates in the ninth of a 6- 5 win at Miller Park.
The Pirates ( 10- 22) lost three of four at Miller Park and finished their season series against the Brewers at 55.
The win was made possible by pinch- hitter Orlando Arcia’s single in the eighth inning off of Chris Stratton, who relieved Nik Turley after the left- hander walked another pinch- hitter Avisail Garcia.
Arcia lined a single to left, scoring center fielder Ben Gamel from second.
While it appeared earlier the Pirates might be headed for a blowout loss, they pulled themselves back in it with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, tying the score, 55.
Adam Frazier knocked in the first on a single that he drilled down the first- base line. It scored Cole Tucker, who led off the inning with a double. The Pirates got a big, two- out single from Jose Osuna, who smacked a hanging breaking ball into center.
The Pirates got off to a sloppy start in this one, as they made two errors — both by Kevin Newman — and Trevor Williams walked two and hit a batter in the first four innings.
Gonzalez tied the score with his third home run of the season in the third . Facing left- hander Brent Suter, he connected on a 2- 1 fastball down and in, depositing it over the fence in left field.
A clean single from center fielder Ben Gamel in the third pushed the Brewers ahead, 32, before another errant throw by Newman.