Pittsburgh Pirates are the most annoying team in baseball. More so than the St. Louis Cardinals. They have a bunch of players that always seem to be thorns in the Brewers’ side. No matter what the scouting report says, Milwaukee’s pitching staff always seems to fuck it up. Colin Moran, Adam Fraizer, Bryan Reynolds all have big series against the Brewers on a routine basis. Brewers’ scouts need to start over with these Pirates and see if there’s something else they can do. .500 for the week is fine for Milwaukee but dropping two of three to the Pirates at home is annoying. Let’s recap the last two games.

FIVE STARS
Brett Anderson – What a start from Anderson on Saturday night. He had all the run support in the world yet again with the Brewers jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. This is the second straight start for Anderson to get a heap of run support. He helped protect the bullpen by going seven innings, six hits allowed, and six strikeouts. Anderson bounced back nicely after his rough first start at Chicago. Let’s hope he can keep it up.

Jackie Bradley Jr. – What a run for JBJ. He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak. Bradley Jr. is getting more playing time because Lorenzo Cain is currently sidelined with a quad injury. And he’s doing big things at the lead-off spot. He had three hits on Saturday night and scored twice. Then on Sunday, he added two more hits. JBJ seems to be a staple at the top of the order until the Brewers get healthy.

FOUR STARS
Dan Vogelbach – Good Sunday showing for Danny Doublecheese. He hit two bombs in this one. Going yard to start the game in the first inning then tying the game back up in the seventh when the Pirates took a 5-3 lead. Vogelbach is a streaky hitter, so, I would not be surprised if Craig Counsell decides to roll with him this week in San Diego to see if the power can continue for Big Dan.

THREE STARS
Freddy Peralta – Not the same starts we saw against Chicago, but can you really expect that every time out? Peralta did alright out there. He had one bad inning which led to Moran hitting a three-run homer. Peralta found himself in trouble and couldn’t work out of it. He did strike out seven in five innings, but he also walked three batters as well. Peralta will have games like this. No reason to freak out though.

ONE STAR
Luis Urias’ fielding – What a bad night for Luis Urias on Saturday. He had three errors in the game. Urias is known for being a pretty good fielder, so, this came as a bit of a surprise. He did not play on Sunday with a scheduled off day, so, let’s hope this does not carry over into the next series. Brewers cannot have that from their shortstop especially when a lot of their pitchers get ground balls.

The injury bug – Milwaukee is covered with injuries right now. Christian Yelich joined the group with a back injury. Best case, we see Yelich back for the Cubs series. Brewers are playing without three of their starters which makes things very difficult.

NEXT UP
Milwaukee heads to San Diego for a quick three-game trip with the Padres. You have to wonder if the Padres will be up for this one. They played what felt like a playoff series with the Dodgers over the weekend. Hard to think they’re going to be as up for this one. Joe Musgrove gets the ball for San Diego while Brandon Woodruff gets it for Milwaukee.

Charlie.