Brewers welcome Woody back as Pirates earn split

A four game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates started with a bang and ended with whimper as the Milwaukee Brewers finished with a split after falling 4-1 Sunday afternoon at American Family Field.  Johan Oviedo was too much for the Crew as he worked seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.   Milwaukee couldn’t get on the board until the 9th inning when they plated a run on a throwing error.   The Brewer offense erupted for 14 runs in the series opener and needed a late rally Saturday night to win in extra’s with Sal Frelick tying it up in the 9th with an RBI and Blake Perkins delivering a walk off 3-2 win with a single in the 10th.     Sunday’s finale wasn’t without a bright spot however as Brandon Woodruff returned to the mound for the first time since April.   he was touched for solo homes from Endy Rodriguez in the third and Connor Joe in the 4th but made it through five innings, giving up just two more hits without walking anyone while striking out 9.  Brian Reynolds added a pinch hit, two run homer in the 8th off relieve Jean Carlos Mejia.    The Brewers are now 60-53 and have gone just 3-7 in their last 10 games but still hold a game and a half lead in the NL Central where it’s become three’s a crowd.   The Cincinnati Reds got swept by Washington 6-3 on Sunday for their sixth straight loss while the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 to take two out of three against the best team in baseball and both teams are now tied for second.    Milwaukee’s homestand continues with the Colorado Rockies in for a three game set.  Freddy Peralta will face Peter Lambert in the opener Monday night.  Pre-game coverage begins at 6:35 PM with  7:10 PM first pitch on WTAQ.