The Milwaukee Brewers fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, 6-3, in a game that marked the loss of their second straight series and one that brings them back to the .500 mark at 13-13.
Without the services of Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Andrew Vaughn, it has been difficult on the Brewers, especially from an offensive perspective.
The lack of power that would otherwise be provided by the aforementioned players has led to Milwaukee going six-straight games without a home run, its longest drought in 11 years, per MLB.com reporter, Adam McCalvy.
No Chourio, no Yelich, no Vaughn. No homers. The Brewers have gone six games without hitting a home run, their longest power outage since 2015. They haven't gone seven games without hitting a homer since 1999.
After the game, manager Pat Murphy provided insightful remarks concerning the state of his team.
“This is what we're all about, keeping them together,” Murphy told the media. “And going through tough times together; locking arms when you go through tough times. And yeah, there's no guarantee that we just jump right out of this.
“This might be whatever it might be, so fine,” he added. “There's no, with those three guys down, there's no embarrassment of how they competed today. I thought they were really good.”
The Brewers could only manage six hits in 34 at-bats in the loss, four of which came from Jake Bauers and Tyler Black. Other than Bauers and Black, Brice Turang notched a hit, and so did Garrett Mitchell.
Murphy also empathized with the fans and touched on the competitiveness of the National League Central Division.
“I know the fans are disappointed, and that's their right to be,” Murphy said. “They're not on the inside looking at what we got going on, and how much people are tired of us dominating the division.
“And while expectations are high, we gotta back it up with great play like we have in the past,” he added. “And I believe in the group. I do, I believe in the group, and I think we'll settle in.”
Jacob Misiorowski got the start for the Brewers on Saturday. While he had another strong outing with nine strikeouts, he also allowed six hits, three earned runs, and a walk. In his second season, Misiorowski adds to the youth of Milwaukee’s pitching depth, with Murphy also addressed.
“We're inexperienced on the mound, we knew that,” he said. “So, when you're inexperienced, or when you got new guys, it's hard to lose three guys in your position player group, knowing that your offense is gonna have to carry you sometimes, so yeah.
“Also credit the Pirates, they're playing good,” Murphy added. “They haven't been in this position too many times in April, where they're battling everyone, so.”
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