Harrison's 12-K gem alleviates Brewers' temporary power outage

MILWAUKEE -- The last time the Brewers went this many games without hitting a home run, Bill Clinton was president, Phil Garner was manager and Miller Park was a construction site.

But they didn’t need a homer to bust out of a funk on Sunday afternoon. Kyle Harrison’s strikeout-fueled pitching gem did the trick.

Milwaukee’s five-run fourth inning backed Harrison’s best start as a Brewer in a 5-0 win over the Pirates at American Family Field, snapping a four-game losing streak and denying what would have been Pittsburgh’s first sweep of a series longer than two games in this ballpark in more than a decade. It was the Brewers’ first shutout victory this season, and after losing four games in a row and 11 of the last 16, the timing couldn’t have been much better.

“Harrison was unbelievable,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Making his second start back from a minor wrist injury, the 24-year-old left-hander logged a career-high 12 strikeouts in six scoreless innings, the most strikeouts for any lefty in the Majors this season. He walked one and allowed only one hit, a single leading off the second inning for Marcell Ozuna, who was promptly erased on a double play.

In surpassing his previous high of 11 strikeouts, set when Harrison was pitching for the Giants in 2024, he flirted with the Brewers’ single-game record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher. That mark -- 13 punchouts -- is shared by Teddy Higuera, who did it three times between 1986-87, and Eric Lauer in 2022.

Harrison also became the first Brewers pitcher to deal six-plus scoreless innings with 12-plus strikeouts since Freddy Peralta in 2023. The only other southpaws with a start like that in franchise history are Lauer in a 2022 start in Philadelphia and Juan Nieves in a shutout against the Mariners in 1986.

He finished with a flourish, retiring the final seven hitters he faced with five strikeouts, including all three hitters he faced in the sixth while taking his pitch count to 101.

“That was a great day, but I can’t take that with me into the next one,” Harrison said. “You have to restart and start new.”

Brewers batters went hitless through the first three innings for the fourth consecutive game, a stretch that has included tough matchups against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Sunday starter Carmen Mlodzinski. They broke through against Mlodzinski in the fourth, scoring five runs on five hits, including David Hamilton’s RBI double for a 3-0 lead -- Hamilton’s first extra-base hit in his 78th plate appearance of the season.

Now, if the Brewers could just rediscover their power. They have not hit a homer in seven consecutive games, their longest stretch since a franchise record 13-game power outage in 1999 that began with Garner as manager and ended under interim skipper Jim Lefebvre.

“It makes it worse when we’re losing games, but if we’re winning and not hitting home runs, it doesn’t really matter,” Hamilton said. “I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think we’re a home run team.”

Hamilton knows Harrison better than most, since they both were acquired with another left-hander, Shane Drohan, in a February trade with the Red Sox. But when he was asked about Harrison’s best stuff, Hamilton went back even further and referenced a matchup in Double-A.

“I think I struck out three times against him,” Hamilton said. “But tonight, that was good stuff. [The fastball] is deceiving. I know it’s pretty firm, too, but it’s the way it gets on you with a little ride, a little run. It’s tough, especially paired with that slider he has.”

“He was throwing it by us pretty good,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said.

Murphy and Harrison each noted the role of catcher William Contreras, who started all three games of the series behind the plate. And Murphy credited Harrison for his durability after a shortened, 72-pitch outing last time out.

“You felt good that he could handle anything you threw at him today,” Murphy said. “What happens sometimes with Harrison is he has that quick delivery, and when he fatigues, the rhythm and timing of it at foot strike doesn’t always allow you to have the same release point. Then he starts missing, pulling, and all of that stuff comes into play. So, conditioning is a huge thing for him. He was special.”

Growing up in the Bay Area, Harrison’s favorite left-handers were some of the usual suspects. Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw among starting pitchers, and Aroldis Chapman among relievers.

Southpaws with swing-and-miss stuff, all of them.

“I love strikeout guys,” Harrison said. “It’s the power lefties I loved watching.”