Dustin May turned in a quality start in his first outing as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Gary Sánchez broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with a home run and the Brewers finished a four-game set against the Pirates with three wins thanks to a 5-2 win Aug. 6 at American Family Field.
Jackson Chourio launched a first-inning homer off Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft, and the Brewers (72-43) moved to 29 games over .500 for the high water mark of the season thus far.
Sánchez had two hits, including a solo shot off Ashcraft leading off the sixth to give the Brewers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Brice Turang added a two-out single that glanced off third baseman Nick Gonzales and made it 4-2.
May, the key acquisition for the Brewers at the 2026 trade deadline in an exchange with the St. Louis Cardinals, labored somewhat in walking three batters and hitting another among 97 pitches in six innings. But he also allowed only two earned runs on three hits, with five strikeouts and a win in his debut with the Brewers.
With closer Trevor Megill having worked back-to-back games, Chad Patrick worked the ninth for his fifth save of the season, working around a pair of one-out baserunners.
There wasn’t a ton of firepower in the series, with the Brewers scoring just 16 runs over the four games, but the pitching staff allowed only 10.
May’s hiccups came in the fourth, when he allowed a leadoff homer to Brandon Lowe for the first Pirates hit of the game, then issued a walk, single and RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. The situation would have been worse had Garrett Mitchell not thrown out baserunner Endy Rodriguez trying to stretch from first to third. That allowed the Brewers to escape with no further damage and re-take the lead in the fifth.
Andrew Vaughn added an RBI single in the sixth; first baseman Jake Bauers missed his third straight game with abdominal soreness.
Mitchell’s outfield assist was one of two for the Brewers in the game. Luis Lara also threw out a runner at first leaning too far off the base on a fly ball to right. Brice Turang also converted a double play on a leaping catch in the second, then initiated a game-ending double play in the ninth.
These were the updates as the game unfolded:
Luis Lara ends the inning with awesome throw from right field
Make it two outfield assists for the Brewers today after Luis Lara charged in to snag a sinking liner, then chucked to first for a double play after Nick Gonzales strayed too far off the bag. The initial call was safe, but replay showed the ball beat the runner back.
DL Hall gave up the leadoff single to Gonzales but wound up facing the minimum in the seventh, with his team holding a 5-2 lead.
Andrew Vaughn makes it 5-2, scoring Garrett Mitchell
Garrett Mitchell’s hustle double leading off the sixth paid off when Andrew Vaughn pulled a single to left against Pirates reliever Gregory Soto, and now the lead is 5-2.
Dustin May should be all done after six innings. He threw a lot of pitches (97) but kept damage to a minimum, permitting two runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Gary Sánchez gives the Brewers the lead back with home run, and it’s 4-2, Brewers
Even when he doesn’t seem to get all of it, Brewers catcher Gary Sánchez sure can send a baseball a long way. The home run goes 397 feet to left field, and Milwaukee took a 3-2 lead, then added on when Brice Turang’s hot shot to third ate up third baseman Nick Gonzalez, allowing Cooper Pratt to score.
Pratt doubled with two outs. Jackson Chourio just missed his second homer of the game in the next at-bat, but it was caught at the wall. Milwaukee takes a 4-2 lead into the sixth.
Pittsburgh strings together hits to tie the game, but what a throw by Garrett Mitchell
Pittsburgh has tied the game after three straight batters reached against May after the Lowe home run, with Spencer Horwitz’s bloop single driving in a game-tying run. But on the same play, Garrett Mitchell threw a strike to third base from center field and retired Endy Rodríguez with the first out of the inning.
That loomed large with consecutive flyouts to follow, ending the inning instead of spotting the Pirates a third run.
We head to the bottom of the fourth in a tie game.
First Pirates hit of the day is a home run by Brandon Lowe
Hitting his 24th home run of the year, Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe put a ball over the left-center wall for the first hit of the day against Dustin May. That makes it 2-1, Brewers, with nobody out in the fourth.
Cooper Pratt drives in Brewers’ second run as May through three hitless innings
Cooper Pratt’s line drive to right field goes down as a sacrifice fly, scoring David Hamilton from third after he walked, stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Without the benefit of a hit, the Brewers have taken a 2-0 lead on the Pirates in the third.
It was especially impressive for Pratt, who took an inadvertent shot to the groin from Pirates catcher Henry Davis during the stolen base, then spent some time with trainers before returning to the at-bat.
Dustin May has issued a walk and hit batter but no hits so far through three innings, with three strikeouts. Brice Turang made a nifty leaping catch and converted it into a double play to end the second.
Jackson Chourio goes deep for second time this series
For the second time in three days, Jackson Chourio has belted an opposite-field home run, this time just over the wall in right center to spot the Brewers a 1-0 lead over Braxton Ashcraft and the Pirates.
ABS helps Dustin May record first Brewers strikeout
After a leadoff walk to Pirates center fielder Jake Mangum that would have been a good candidate for an ABS review, Dustin May gets his first strikeout as a member of the Brewers with an ABS-aided punchout of Brandon Lowe. Home-plate umpire Sean Barber called a pitch a ball that would have resulted in a full count, but catcher Gary Sánchez asked for the second look.
He then got more traditional swinging strikeouts of Bryan Reynolds and Endy Rodríguez. It took 23 pitches to get through the first but it ended with a scoreless frame and three punchouts.
What is the Brewers’ record?
72-43, best in the major leagues.
Brewers probable pitchers and schedule
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dustin May’s Brewers debut ends in third straight win against Pirates
Reporting by Todd Rosiak and JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Todd Rosiak and JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
