Adam Frazier’s walk-off home run ends Pirates’ losing streak

The Pirates were in a slogging September baseball game, having not put away the Brewers, but with Milwaukee, desperate for a win to take hold of a share of a wild-card spot, unable to close out the Pirates.

In a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the ninth, Adam Frazier drilled a fastball from closer Corey Knebel over the right-field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Pirates a 6-4 win over the Brewers on Wednesday night, snapping the Bucs’ seven-game losing streak.

Frazier finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. He also reached on an error.

Being a meaningless game for the Pirates, the biggest thing to watch for Wednesday was whether Tyler Glasnow showed any improvement. He did not.

The Pirates had picked up a 3-2 lead, their first lead in some time, in the middle innings, but Glasnow walked four in 1 1-3 innings of relief and gave up that lead.

Glasnow entered in the sixth, relieving Steven Brault, who was solid in five innings, striking out three, walking one and allowing two runs on four hits. Glasnow issued a leadoff walk to Domingo Santana but fanned Ryan Braun. Elias Dias made a heads-up play, getting a 2-6-3 double play out of Travis Shaw’s tapper in front of the plate to get out of the sixth.

Glasnow issued three straight walks, aided only by pinch-runner Quintin Berry’s caught stealing. He departed for A.J. Schugel, who let his two inherited runners score for a 4-3 Brewers lead.

Andrew McCutchen doubled with one out in the eighth. Anthony Swarzak struck out Josh Bell for the second out, then Knebel came on to face David Freese, who hit a slow roller to the third-base side of the mound. Knebel uncorked a wild throw down the line, allowing Freese to reach safely and McCutchen to score the tying run from second.

The usually very solid Knebel issued a walk to Elias Diaz to start the bottom of the ninth, but got back-to-back fly outs from Jordy Mercer and Gregory Polanco before Frazier ended it.

Jesus Aguilar and Santana hit solo homers off Brault in the second and third innings, respectively, for a 2-0 Brewers lead. The Pirates countered by chasing Aaron Wilkerson in his first Major League start.

Diaz led off the bottom of the third with a double, and Mercer walked. Diaz got cut down on a fielder’s choice, but Frazier knocked one just short of where his homer would end up, off the top of the right-field wall for a two-run triple. Starling Marte, who made a couple bad baserunning errors, singled in Frazier.

The game was a workout for those trying to keep a scorebook. The Brewers used 24 players, including eight pitchers. The Pirates used 19, six of them pitchers.

The Pirates have a day off Thursday before hosting the Cardinals for a three-game weekend series.