 said of Bell after picking up his first victory since April 7. ''If he gets out, he's mad. He's hitting .340 and he's angry that he's got out, which continues to keep him motivated. He's not content. We've got four months left in the season and I expect to see big things from him going forward.'' Bell didn't provide any big blasts Friday night, but contributed to a flood of small ones as the Pirates jumped on struggling Milwaukee starter Jhoulys Chacin to win for just the fourth time in 11 games. Starling Marte had three hits and scored three times and Kevin Newman went 2 for 5 with two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games.SHAKY CHACINChacin (3-7) fell to 1-7 in his last 10 starts when his command abandoned him in the third inning. The 11-year-veteran walked four batters in the frame, three of them with the bases loaded, including a five-pitch walk to Archer that pushed Pittsburgh's lead to 5-1. Freddy Peralta replaced Chacin and Newman delivered a liner to left field that allowed Colin Moran and Adam Frazier to score and push Pittsburgh's advantage to 7-1.Chacin - a 15-game winner last season for a team that reached the National League Championship Series - saw his ERA balloon to 5.74 after being charged with seven runs in 2 2/3 innings, with two strikeouts. His four walks marked a season high and he threw just 40 of his 76 pitches for strikes.''I just lost my focus in that inning,'' Chacin said. ''That never happened to me before, walking guys with the bases loaded like that. I need to start to do a better job if I want to keep pitching.'' Something that might not be guaranteed. Asked if Chacin might need a break, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said only: ''We've got to figure out how to get him pitching the way he's capable of.'' ARCHER REBOUNDSArcher came in winless since early April, a stretch that's watched the centerpiece of a deal that sent Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to Tampa Bay search for answers. He seemed to find some in a bullpen session in Cincinnati while throwing to Jacob Stallings. Stallings encouraged Archer to rely more on his fastball, and Archer responded by striking out seven with two walks in seven innings. He gave up a solo home run to Jesus Aguilar in the third and a three-run shot to Keston Hiura in the fourth but settled down afterward.''I'm going to stay relentless,'' Archer said. ''I've been doing this a long time. I'm not going to let (a slump) define me.'' TRAINER'S ROOMBrewers: C Manny Pina (right hamstring discomfort) is expected to rejoin Milwaukee over the weekend.Pirates: RHP Jordan Lyles (left hamstring discomfort) will start Sunday's series finale. ... RHP Keone Kela will be shut down for 10 days after the right shoulder discomfort that sent him to the injured list popped back up during a rehab assignment.UP NEXTBrewers: Brandon Woodruff (7-1, 3.22 ERA) will look for his seventh straight win on Saturday. Woodruff limited the Phillies to one run in eight innings last Sunday.Pirates: Nick Kingham (1-1, 8.28) hasn't won a game as a starter since last July, but will get the nod on Saturday.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Brewers aim to keep momentum going vs. PiratesFLMThe Milwaukee Brewers don't need Christian Yelich to hit homers to win. After all, Yelich didn't add to his total of 21 on Thursday. Instead, he watched his teammates hit four homers in a series-opening 11-5 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.The Brewers haven't had the best of luck on the road but used that power to move to 14-14 away from home going into Friday's second game of a four-game set.The Brewers rode their power and 18 hits to a win the first meeting of the season with the Pirates. Milwaukee has 96 homers collectively.Pittsburgh has given up 12 homers in its past eight games and, not coincidentally, is 2-6."We're working a lot of different areas for improvement," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said after his team had the tying run at the plate three times Thursday.Friday, Milwaukee right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (3-6, 4.88 ERA) is scheduled to face Pittsburgh righty Chris Archer (1-5, 5.75 ERA), a matchup of struggling starters.Chacin is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA over his past three starts, including a 7-2 loss Saturday against Philadelphia when he gave up four runs and seven hits -- including two homers -- in five innings, with six strikeouts and three walks.A silver lining to that outing was Chacin reaching 1,000 career strikeouts.Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell indicated Chacin's performance this season, while passable, has yet to reach the level the Brewers have seen before and need."I don't think Jhoulys has clicked it all in," Counsell said. "I think he's pitched really well the last six starts. ... Really, to me, that's the starter's job -- to keep your team in the game -- and he's really good at that."He's done his job. He's kept us in games. That's what we're asking. Then you (hopefully) get into a stretch where it starts clicking, and it carries the load." Chacin is 2-6 with a 4.21 ERA in 12 career starts against the Pirates. Last year, he was 0-3 with a 3.03 ERA in six starts.Archer has been one of four Pittsburgh starters to spend time on the injured list, but he hasn't been one of the Pittsburgh starters to pick up the slack with others out, primarily because of control issues.He is 0-5 over his past six starts, including 0-3 since he returned from the IL (right thumb irritation). He has coughed up six homers over his past five games.Sunday, Archer gave up four runs and six hits in five innings, with six walks and three strikeouts, in an 11-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.He acknowledged his struggles and predicted an imminent turnaround."It's been four starts that I haven't pitched to my capability whatsoever," Archer said. "My next one could be a great one, and it will be a great one. It will be better than (Sunday)." Archer hasn't delivered a quality start since April 13. He needed 105 pitches for his five innings against Los Angeles."He's working hard to get outs, and his fastball command has been just off enough that it's extended counts," Hurdle said.Archer is 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee.--Field Level Media
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