Ramirez, Reynolds home runs lead to 4-2 Pirates loss

Francisco Liriano struck out seven batters in six innings and had a wicked slider and changeup going, but the Brewers ended up beating him on two inside fastballs, and the Bucs lost 4-2. Also, Andrew McCutchen left the game due to left ankle discomfort; there's no word yet on the seriousness of the injury.

Liriano and Wily Peralta traded zeroes until the fourth, when Carlos Gomez led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. Until that point, Liriano had been throwing low sliders and changeups, and the Brewers had been having trouble with them. But against Aramis Ramirez, Liriano threw a high fastball. It was a good pitch that painted the corner, but you knew it was gone as soon as the camera swept ominously above the outfield. The following inning, Liriano threw a similar pitch to Mark Reynolds, who crushed it for a no-doubt shot to left center. The next batter, Rickie Weeks, doubled, then came home on a line-drive single by Carlos Gomez.

Russell Martin reached on an error in the seventh, then came home when Neil Walker homered. But the seventh-inning, two-run homer to cut a 4-0 lead to two was as close as the Pirates could get to duplicating yesterday's comeback. Bryan Morris pitched the last two innings and looked great, striking out three, but it made no difference, as Jim Henderson and Francisco Rodriguez shut the Pirates down in the late innings.