Saturday, April 16, 2016
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
Ryan Braun hit two long two-run home runs and Jimmy Nelson took a shutout into the seventh inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 on Friday night.
Braun had a 460-foot shot off the batter’s eye in center field off Kyle Lobstein in the sixth to put the Brewers ahead 5-0. After the Pirates drew within a run, Braun hit a 415-foot shot to dead center in the eighth off Neftali Feliz for his third of the season to make it 7-4.
It was Braun’s 23rd career multi-homer game.
Pinch-hitter Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer, his first, to chase Nelson (2-1) with none out in the seventh. The Pirates cut the gap to 5-4 later in the inning on back-to-back doubles by David Freese and Starling Marte with two outs.
Jeff Locke (0-1) gave up three runs, five hits and walked seven in 42/3 innings. He struck out four.
The Brewers, who added a run in the ninth inning when Kirk Nieuwenhuis drew a bases-loaded walk from AJ Schlugel, evened their record at 5-5 while sending the Pirates (5-6) to their fourth straight loss.
Braun and Jonathan Villar, who sat out the two previous games with a sore left ankle, each had three of the Brewers’ 11 hits. Chris Carter and Aaron Hill added two hits apiece.
Nelson won his second straight start and improved his career record to 5-2 against the Pirates. He gave up three runs — two earned — and four hits while walking four and striking out one.
Marte had three hits for the Pirates.
Locke walked the leadoff batter in each of the first four innings and the Brewers took advantage by scoring single runs in the second, third and fourth to move in front 3-0.
The first run scored on a double play grounder in the second inning then Chris Carter drew a bases-loaded walk in the third and Domingo Santana hit an RBI single in the fourth.
LADY ON DECK?
Major League Baseball held Jackie Robinson Day for the 13th straight season Friday to celebrate the anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers infielder breaking the sport’s color barrier in 1947.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle believes the day will come when a female will break baseball’s gender barrier.
“I still believe firmly there’s going to be a day where there’s a female playing in the big leagues,” he said. “I got that. Where it goes, I don’t know. I don’t believe I’ll be in the dugout to see it.”