Major League Baseball

Brewers bats need to come alive vs. Pirates

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:31 a.m. ET

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MILWAUKEE -- September had gotten off to a good start for the Milwaukee Brewers, who opened the month by taking two of three from the Cubs, split a series in St. Louis, swept the Pirates in Pittsburgh, then took another series from the Cubs, this time at Wrigley Field and delaying Chicago's division-clinching celebration in the process.

But, back home, that run seems to have ground to a screeching halt after the Brewers dropped two straight games to the Pirates, in underwhelming fashion.

"We haven't swung the bats well these first two games," Counsell said Wednesday after a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh. "We've got a couple of guys certainly who are struggling a little and not at their peak right now. You'll have stretches like that, nights like that. Hopefully we turn it around tomorrow."

Right-hander Chase Anderson will lead that effort, taking the mound for the 29th time this season. Anderson has looked good as of late, posting a 4-1 record and a 2.39 ERA over his last 10 starts and took no decision his last time out, holding the Cubs to two runs over six innings in a 5-4, 10-inning loss.

Anderson has faced the Pirates four times this season, going 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA but he'll need to find a way to slow down outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has been on a tear since the start of September.

McCutchen had two hits, including his 24th homer of the season Wednesday, extending his hitting streak to nine games.

McCutchen is batting .385 (15-for-39) during the streak and .299 (23-for-77) since the start of September, with six home runs and 20 RBIs.

"It definitely helps when things are going your way, going the way you want them to go," McCutchen said. "That helps it, but sometimes it can be tough when things were going the way you wanted it to go to be having fun. You got to find the fun. Things are going in the right direction, so of course fun comes along with it."

As McCutchen has heated up, so, too have the Pirates, who have won six of their last seven games, seven of their last nine and have also won six in a row at Miller Park for the first time since 2002.

"I think you get to a place where you stop to fight and you start playing," manager Clint Hurdle said of his team's recent surge. "You go back to the thing where you were six years old and playing in the backyard. You have to have some fun when you do this. When it turns into a fight and everything is just grinding, I don't know if that's the best way to play the game.

"The teams I've played on that have played well late went through some things but were still having a blast. We went through a period where that happiness kind of eluded us. And it is hard, because when you are not winning and you are not performing well, you get a little stoic. We try to remind them to still go out there and play. They say play ball. They don't say go grind ball, they don't say go try as hard as you can. They are playing and having fun. Everybody is throwing something in."

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