Frustrating loss continues Brewers' disappointing start to the 2025 season

In a season marked by injuries to the pitching staff and slow offensive starts from some key players, the Milwaukee Brewers have managed to tread water, but it hasn't been without a few dips below the surface. Whether it was the loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks back in April, when the team surrendered five runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose by one, or the loss to the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month that was greatly impacted by a controversial obstruction call at third base, the Brewers have several moments that they can't forget soon enough. As of late, avoidable mistakes and an overtaxed bullpen have been the impetus for disaster, reinforced by the Brewers' 6-5 loss to the Pirates last night.

Any time you are facing Paul Skenes, you can only hope that you either scratch a few lucky runs across or chase him out of the game before the seventh inning and take your chances with the Pirates' bullpen. The Brewers managed to do both on Friday night, and by the time the seventh inning rolled around, Skenes was sitting in the dugout, and the Crew had chipped into the Pirates' 2-run lead with an RBI-single from Rhys Hoskins.

In the top of the seventh, with Tanner Rainey now on the mound, the Brewers plated two more runs thanks to RBI-singles from Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio, giving them a 3-2 lead for the time being. Milwaukee was already using its bullpen, which is second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers in all of baseball for most innings pitched this year, according to FanGraphs.

After Grant Anderson earned five big outs to essentially close out Freddy Peralta's short start, Jared Koenig entered the game in the bottom of the seventh. Koenig, who hasn't been as sharp since the calendar flipped to May, surrendered a double to Andrew McCutchen and a game-tying RBI-single to Bryan Reynolds.

Nick Mears tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and the game remained tied as it entered the ninth frame. With David Bednar pitching for the Pirates, William Contreras launched a 3-2 fastball right down the plate into the Brewers' bullpen.

The Brewers were in line for their second straight win in Pittsburgh, a win in a game started by Skenes, and a return to a .500 record. However, things didn't go to plan in the bottom of the ninth or the innings that followed.

Brewers losing record in one-run games a stark contrast from years past

With Trevor Megill unavailable, after pitching four of the last five days, manager Pat Murphy turned to flamethrower Abner Uribe to get the save. Uribe allowed a solo shot to the second batter he faced, Oneil Cruz, blowing the save opportunity and leaving Brewers fans praying for extra innings. For Cruz, it was his second homer of the game and his tenth in 2025. Uribe hunkered down and got the last two outs in the ninth, giving the Crew a shot for the win in extras.

The automatic runner was the only run Milwaukee could scratch across in the top of the tenth, and with a one-run lead, Murphy stuck with Uribe for the bottom of the tenth. Uribe has covered more than three outs just twice this season, and the last instance came on April 4, but with a depleted pen, Murphy and company elected to save a few arms for the rest of the weekend, rather than toss a fresh one out for the tenth inning.

The first batter Uribe faced in his second inning of work, Alexander Canario, singled to center field, scoring the run and advancing to second on a fielding error from Chourio.

Two batters later, after the team elected to intentionally walk Adam Frazier, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa singled on a line drive to Sal Frelick in right field, but Frelick came up throwing and threw out Canario at home to keep the game tied. Frazier advanced to third on the throw, and the next batter scored the winning run on a wild pitch from Uribe.

It was another disheartening loss for the Crew, whose record in one-run games falls to 5-7 and record in extra-inning games falls to 1-2. It's an area where the Brewers have excelled in the recent past, but this year has been a completely different story. The overworked bullpen leading to Uribe being asked to cover multiple innings and little things like the Chourio error in center are just two more instances of avoidable mistakes that have worsened the Brewers' record.