Bucs drop Brewers for 4th win in a row
PITTSBURGH — For the first time in almost two years, Jason Bay was not in the starting lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
It didn't seem to matter for the suddenly streaking Pirates.
Jeromy Burnitz and Jose Castillo had solo home runs as the Pirates won their fourth straight game, 4-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Victor Santos (5-7) was effective enough in making his first start since June 15 in place of Shawn Chacon for Pittsburgh, which was without Bay in the lineup for the first time since September 4, 2004.
"Of course you want to have him in your lineup," manager Jim Tracy said of the All-Star outfielder. "But with some of the players we have now, you can feel good about the lineup we put out there even when a guy like Jason is not playing. That shows where we are as a ballclub now."
Bay's streak of 307 consecutive games played ended after he strained his right hamstring while stretching before Sunday's game against St. Louis, when the Pirates completed a sweep of the first-place Cardinals.
It was the fourth-longest active streak in the majors.
"To get a win without one of your best players is definitely a plus," Burnitz said.
Tony Graffanino and Corey Hart each had two hits for the Brewers, who have lost seven of their last eight to the Pirates.
"A loss is a loss," Milwaukee starter Dave Bush said. "The sign of a good team is they find a way to win games like this."
Santos, who went on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff in June and lost his spot in the rotation upon his return in July, was filling in for Chacon, who had a sore knee. Santos gave up two runs and four hits in five innings.
"I just wanted to go out there and keep the ball down and stay aggressive," said Santos, who had not won since June 9. "I kept us in the game and we got a 'W' out of it. You can't ask for anything else."
Pittsburgh gave Santos a lead in the first inning when Freddy Sanchez's groundout scored Chris Duffy. Duffy was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
"We started the game much in the manner that we did over the weekend, scoring the first run," Tracy said.
But the Brewers came back to score twice in the second. Damian Miller hit a sacrifice fly and Bush had a single that scored Hart, who had broken an 0-for-18 slump with a single.
"We had some opportunities to knock (Santos) out of the ballgame," Milwaukee shortstop Bill Hall said. "It's always frustrating when you get a good pitch and don't put it in play and score runs."
Said Santos: "I worked myself into a jam, and I worked myself out of it."
Burnitz hit his 16th homer leading off the bottom half, tying it at 2. The ball hit off the right-field foul pole.
"It was really hooking," Burnitz said. "I was glad it hit the pole for us."
Notes: Pirates SS Jack Wilson left the game before the seventh inning with a bruised right hand. He was hit by a pitch in the third, and said after the game he expected to play Tuesday. ... The Pirates also placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of a sprained left ankle and recalled outfielder Rajai Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis.
