Wednesday’s 12-5 drubbing at American Family Field was just the latest chapter in the Pirates’ season-long tailspin. From the opening inning, Pittsburgh looked outmatched as Milwaukee raced to an early lead and never relented. By the time the ninth inning rolled around, the scoreboard told a familiar story of inept pitching and porous defense that has become all too common for this club.
The Brewers’ offense was relentless, erupting for four runs in the fourth inning that essentially put the game out of reach. William Contreras delivered a four-RBI performance and Christian Yelich chipped in three more runs batted in, while Pirate’s pitcher Mitch Keller was yanked after surrendering six earned runs over four innings. Jared Koenig and the Milwaukee bullpen then mopped up, preserving a lopsided win that left Pittsburgh on the wrong end of a three-game sweep.
This loss completed a painful three-game sweep at the hands of Milwaukee, marking the Pirates’ eighth series clean-sweep defeat of 2025. Pittsburgh fell, 7-1, on Monday before suffering a 14-0 embarrassment on Tuesday. That back-to-back collapse at American Family Field only underscored how far this roster has fallen from respectability.
Over those three games, the Brewers outscored the Pirates by a brutal 33-6 margin, steamrolling through every phase of the contest. Pittsburgh’s hitters managed a lone solo homer in Game 1 and a two Bryan Reynolds homers in Game 3, but otherwise were shut down or stranded in sweeps of missed opportunities.
With little time to regroup, the Pirates will now head to Chicago for a weekend series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, starting Friday night. If recent form is any indication, this next stop won’t offer much in the way of redemption. Pittsburgh’s bats are cold, the pitching staff is on life support, and the schedule shows no mercy heading into the dog days of summer.
(photo courtesy of Observer Reporter)