Brewers rout Pirates as Andrew Heaney struggles

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Aug 11, 2025

Published in Baseball

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The Brewers are currently the best team in baseball. The Pirates are not. The difference showed Monday.

Milwaukee beat the Pirates, 7-1, on Monday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Brewers starter Jose Quintana completed six strong innings and improved to 10-4. Pirates starter Andrew Heaney took the loss, falling to 5-10, after allowing six runs on nine hits, two walks and two hit batters in four innings.

The Brewers have now won 10 in a row. The Pirates have lost their last three.

Heaney allowed a leadoff homer to second baseman Brice Turang, then the Brewers broke it open against Heaney with a four-run third. Designated hitter Christian Yelich started it with a solo homer, blasting a hanging Heaney curveball to center. Then the Brewers stitched together four consecutive singles. The fourth run scored on a Joey Bart throwing error, as Bart’s attempt to catch Joey Ortiz stealing second deflected off shortstop Jared Triolo’s glove.

All nine Brewers reached base, with eight players combining for 11 hits. Six players scored a run.

Chase Shugart, activated off the injury list before Monday’s game, saved the Pirates bullpen by pitching three innings in relief of Heaney. Shugart allowed two hits and one run and struck out five. Dauri Moreta was optioned to clear space for Shugart’s return from left knee inflammation.

Kyle Nicolas pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

It was over when ...

After the four-run third, the outcome was never in doubt.

On the mound

Heaney had faced exactly 18 batters in his last three starts, but he faced 25 batters Monday. The Pirates bullpen had a taxing weekend, pitching a bullpen game on Saturday and allowing 10 runs in four innings Sunday. Five relievers were used on Sunday.

Shugart was stellar, giving the Pirates a shot on Tuesday and Wednesday by completing three innings for the second time this season.

At the plate

Bart gave the Pirates their lone offensive highlight with a solo homer in the third inning. The blast, Bart’s first opposite-field homer in his career, tied the game at 1. It was Bart’s first homer since April 7 and second of the season.

The Pirates managed just two other hits, both also off Quintana — a Triolo single in the third and a Bryan Reynolds double in the sixth.

Most valuable player

Collins went 2 for 5 with a double, a triple and two runs scored. Collins’ triple, off Shugart, came on a hard-hit grounder under first baseman Liover Peguero’s glove.

Up next

The Pirates will look to snap their three-game losing streak at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday with Paul Skenes (7-8, 1.94 ERA) on the mound. The Brewers will counter with their ace, Freddy Peralta (13-5, 3.03), in the second game of a three-game series.