Sánchez Blast Breaks Tie, Brewers Pull Away 5-2
Milwaukee erased a fourth-inning deficit with three unanswered runs across the fifth and sixth innings to beat Pittsburgh 5-2 on August 6. The story of the night was Gary Sánchez's 397-foot shot to left center in the fifth, a swing that moved Milwaukee's win probability from 58% to 72% and effectively ended Pittsburgh's chances.
Jackson Chourio set the tone immediately, homering to center 388 feet in the first inning to put Milwaukee on top. Pittsburgh's starter Braxton Ashcraft held things there through the second, but Cooper Pratt's sacrifice fly in the third — scoring Hamilton — pushed the lead to 2-0. The Pirates answered in the fourth with some genuine life: Brandon Lowe went deep to left center at 384 feet to cut it to 2-1, and then Spencer Horwitz singled to center to score Reynolds and tie the game at 2-2. Rodríguez was thrown out trying to advance to third on that same play, a baserunning mistake that looks, in hindsight, like it cost Pittsburgh any real shot at momentum.
The fifth inning is where this game was decided. Sánchez led off with a 397-foot homer to left center, putting Milwaukee back in front 3-2 and swinging the win probability from 58% to 72% in one swing. Turang followed with a single to left that scored Pratt, and suddenly it was 4-2 with Pittsburgh's offense already sputtering. Dustin May had given up those two fourth-inning runs but otherwise kept the Pirates in check across six innings — 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. That's a workable line, and it appears May did just enough to let his offense bail him out.
Milwaukee added insurance in the sixth when Vaughn singled to left to score Mitchell, making it 5-2 and closing the book on any Pittsburgh comeback. Ashcraft was pulled after five innings having allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits. Aaron Ashby came on in relief for Milwaukee and was sharp — 1.0 inning, 1 hit, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts. Kirby Yates did his job for Pittsburgh as well with a clean inning, but the damage was already done. Three Milwaukee hitters — Chourio, Sánchez, and Pratt — each drove in a run, and the Brewers' lineup spread the work around efficiently enough that Pittsburgh's pitching never had a single throat to grab. Final: MIL 5, PIT 2.