If you told me that the Pirates would get four hits, rely on Aaron Thompson and Jason Grilli to get through seven innings, and win against the Brewers, I'd have thought you were crazy, but that's exactly what happened. The Bucs scored twice on sacrifice flies, Thompson got through 4.1 scoreless innings, and then the often-walktastic Grilli had four strikeouts and no free passes in 2.2 innings. Also, Joel Hanrahan got three whiffs while picking up the save, which is a great sign given how poorly he's been pitching recently. Hey! Awesome. And welcome to the Show, Aaron Thompson.
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The Pirates also signed pitcher Mike Loree out of independent ball and will send him to Altoona. He was a 50th-round pick by the Giants in 2007 and flamed out in Class A, but he evidently took a big step forward in his second year in independent ball, posting more than a strikeout per inning. The Pirates are probably mostly just trying to fill space with all the injuries they've had recently.