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Another day, another ho-hum shutout start from Trevor Williams.
Williams went six scoreless frames, Corey Dickerson and Kevin Newman provided the offense and the Pirates climbed back to .500 yet again, taking the series in Milwaukee by a 3-2 final Sunday.
Williams (13-9) was four-seam heavy, throwing it 53 times out of his 97 pitches. While he only got two whiffs with the pitch, the Brewers went 0-10 with two walks and a sacrifice bunt in plate appearances that ended with a four-seamer.
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He ended the day allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven. It is the third time out of his last four starts where he struck out at least a half dozen batters.
It’s the ninth time this season Williams has had a shoutout start of at least six IP- the most in baseball.
Dickerson got the offense started in the second inning, ripping a leadoff double to right before coming in on a Newman sacrifice fly. He picked up an RBI knock in the fourth to bring home Josh Bell and make it 2-0 Bucs.
Newman singled home Dickerson for another insurance run in the ninth.
Felipe Vazquez allowed home runs on consecutive pitches to Jesus Aguilar and Domingo Santana to open the ninth, but rebounded from there to pick up his 33rd save of the season.
Brewers’ starter Jhoulys Chacin (14-8) allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in his five innings pitched.
Richard Rodriguez and Kyle Crick pitched scoreless innings each to bridge the gap to Vazquez.
Get Well Soon, Uncle Ray
The Pirates announced before the game that pitching coach Ray Searage is scheduled to undergo cervical neck surgery this week. Justin Meccage will serve as the interim pitching coach.
On Deck
The Pirates are heading back to Pittsburgh for a six game homestand starting Monday. First up is their final interleague series of the year: a three game set with the Kansas City Royals. Joe Musgrove (6-9, 3.87) will face Brad Keller (8-6, 3.04) in game one at 7:05 p.m..
NUMB3RS
1. Dickerson had two hits with an exit velocity velocity of at least 100 MPH (108.8 MPH double, 102.5 single). The only other time he has done that since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 4 was on Aug. 18.
2. In his last 11 starts, batters are slashing .140/.218/.160 against Williams with a runner in scoring position. The Brewers went 0-5 with a walk with RISP against him Sunday.
3. Williams and Jameson Taillon are the first pair of Pirates pitchers to win 13 games in a season in the 21st century. The last duo was Todd Ritchie (15) and Jason Schmidt (13) in 1999.