Brewers use 3-run 2nd inning to roll past Pirates in opening game of final homestand

The first game of the final homestand of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates went sideways in the second inning.

Bailey Falter gave up three runs on three hits to the Milwaukee Brewers, who added another three-run inning in the seventh to cruise past the Pirates, 7-2, on Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 14,020 at PNC Park.

The Brewers (90-67), who already clinched the NL Central Division title, took a 6-5 lead with two games remaining in the season series against the Pirates (73-84).

Falter (8-9) allowed four runs on five hits and one walk and struck out five over five innings. After pitching a clean first inning and getting Gary Sanchez looking at a called third strike to start the second, Falter surrendered three runs in a 34-pitch inning.

“It didn’t look like his breaking ball was as sharp as we’d seen it in the other starts,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We had seen a really sharp breaking ball over his last two outings, and it just wasn’t as consistent as it had been.”

For Falter, who has thrown a career-high 139 1/3 innings, it appears late September fatigue has set in. His slider generated 13 swings with only two whiffs on 29 pitches against the Brewers.

“Yeah, it hasn’t been sharp in awhile. That time of the year,” Falter said. “Body is getting a little tired. That’s it.”

Willy Adames singled, stole second and scored on Sal Frelick’s double over the outstretched glove of Bryan De La Cruz in right field to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Then Joey Ortiz hit a two-run single to center to drive in Rhys Hoskins and Frelick and make it 3-0.

The Pirates answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the second. Joey Bart hit a leadoff single to left and reached third on a double by De La Cruz. Bart scored on Jared Triolo’s single to left to cut it to 3-1, and Nick Yorke’s sacrifice fly to right drove in De La Cruz to make it 3-2.

Adames led off the fourth with a double to the left-field corner, advanced to third on Frelick’s fly out to center and scored on a fielder’s choice by Ortiz that saw Pirates rookie first baseman Billy Cook make an errant throw to second base. Jackson Chourio singled to right to load the bases, but Falter got Blake Perkins to pop out to short to escape.

“Hoskins made a pretty good baserunning play if you go back and watch it,” Shelton said of Cook’s error. “He’s about three steps on the grass, which is where you should be, and Billy’s got to take a step to the side or go to the plate.”

The Brewers scored two runs off Isaac Mattson on a pair of one-out, bases-loaded walks to extend their lead to 6-2. Adames drew one on a full count and Hoskins on four pitches, prompting the Pirates to turn to lefty Joey Wentz. Frelick drove in William Contreras with a sacrifice fly to center to give the Brewers a four-run advantage.

“It looked like he started to cut across the ball,” Shelton said of Mattson. “I mean, what, four walks in that inning? Just command of the fastball. He’s a strike thrower, and it looked like he just kind of lost his delivery and lost command of the fastball. Was missing not only against his arm-side, but to his arm-side.”

The Pirates got back-to-back singles by Triolo (3 for 4) and Yorke to start the seventh, but Cook went down looking at a called third strike and Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

De La Cruz drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, advanced to second on Triolo’s single to center and to third on Yorke’s fly out to right, but pinch hitter Joshua Palacios struck out and Kiner-Falefa grounded into a forceout at second to end the game.

“We continued to have good at-bats late in the game,” Shelton said. “We had a chance in the seventh, and we hit into a double-play ball. We had 10 hits, and we had some pretty good swings.”