Bailey Falter leads the way for Pirates in victory over Brewers

PITTSBURGH — Bailey Falter’s strategy is not a hard one to figure out. Unlike some of his teammates, the 26-year old lefty does not possess blow-you-away type stuff that one would typically see on highlight reels.

But despite his simplicity, the Pirates southpaw has remained effective throughout the first month of the season, with Tuesday’s start being his best yet, throwing seven strong innings to lead his club to a 2-1 victory against the Brewers at PNC Park.

Falter started his fifth outing of the season with a three-pitch strikeout against Milwaukee’s marquee prospect Jackson Chourio. The out served as a preview of the night ahead for Pat Murphy’s club, who managed to scratch only three hits against the Pirates starter.

As he has all season, Falter once again attacked opposing hitters with his fastball, throwing it for 71 of his 85 pitches. The heater accounted for each of his eight strikeouts on the evening, which matched his career high.

Two runs were all Falter needed to earn his second win of the season. Andrew McCutchen once again got the Pirates’ offense going with a leadoff home run to left field, his second lead-off blast in as many nights. Connor Joe then brought home Bryan Reynolds for what would end up being the game-winning run with a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the sixth.

Falter cruised through the first seven innings, limiting the Brewers to just a pair of singles, both which came in the top of the third. With a 2-0 lead after seven innings and his pitch count sitting at 81, Derek Shelton sent Falter out for the eighth. But his day came to an end one at-bat into the frame after serving up a solo homer to Gary Sanchez.

Colin Holderman relieved Falter, coming in to keep the Brewers’ damage to just a single run. David Bednar then finished the job in the ninth, throwing a perfect frame to record his fourth save on the year.

On the mound

Since allowing five runs in his first inning of the season, Falter has been lights out, having allowed as many runs in his last 26 innings on the hill. Falter finished the evening with a 3.33 ERA, second best among Pirates starters behind only Jared Jones (2.79).

At the plate

After taking the mound for his big league debut, Brewers starter Tobias Myers, the game’s losing pitcher, was greeted properly by McCutchen, who smashed the rookie’s first pitch 358 feet down the left field line for a solo blast.

The home run marked McCutchen’s 24th leadoff round-tripper of his career. McCutchen has gone a combined 5 for 8 with a pair of homers since being moved to the top of the order Monday.