The Pirates' bullpen unraveled in the final two innings Monday night and handed the Milwaukee Brewers a 7-4 victory.
Left-hander John Grabow blew a two-run lead in the eighth. Closer Matt Capps coughed up a 4-3 lead in the ninth ? getting his first blown save via J.J. Hardy's sacrifice fly and Rickie Weeks' three-run homer. It's the sixth loss in seven games for the Pirates (12-13) ? who have lost 16 in a row overall against the Brewers. The Pirates slipped under .500 for the first time since April 9, when they were 4-5.
Starter Paul Maholm got the first out of the eighth, then left the game after issuing his first walk of the game to Hardy. With two outs, Grabow came in to face lefty-hitting Prince Fielder, who singled to center. Mike Cameron walked, loading the bases.
Ryan Braun ? who was not in the starting lineup because he had an MRI exam on his sore back earlier in the day in Milwaukee ? pinch-hit for Chris Duffy. On an 0-2 pitch, Braun blooped a game-tying double into right field.
It's the fourth outing in a row in which Grabow has allowed at least one run.
The Pirates regained the lead in the bottom of the inning.
With two outs, Ramon Vazquez lined a single to right field against reliever Mark DiFelice (3-0). Jason Jaramillo followed with a deep blast to right. Corey Hart couldn't make what would have been a tricky catch, and Jaramillo wound up with an RBI double. That gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead.
The Brewers began the ninth with back-to-back singles by Jason Kendall and Craig Counsell. Capps (0-2) walked Corey Hart, loading the bases.
Hardy's sacrifice fly tied the game, 4-4. On a full-count, Weeks ripped his sixth homer into the left field bleachers.
Maholm worked 7.1 innings and allowed a run on six hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
