Once a co-ace, Harrison running out of chances to earn October role

PITTSBURGH -- An early-season co-ace for the Brewers, Kyle Harrison appears to be running out of chances to pitch his way back into the team’s postseason plans.

Club officials don’t have to answer that question just yet, not with nine regular-season games remaining after Harrison’s latest outing unraveled in the second inning of Thursday’s 7-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park. But it’s one of the decisions for the weeks leading to October, especially in the event the Brewers advance to the best-of-seven rounds, when starting pitching depth is at a premium.

What’s certain is that Harrison’s recent results won’t cut it. He has a 21.00 ERA (nine innings, 21 earned runs) over his last four outings, including a relief appearance against the Reds that the Brewers hoped would help get him on track, and a start against a Pirates team he’s handled in the past. Neither strategy produced the intended results. Harrison surrendered four runs to the Reds without getting an out, then five more runs (four earned) in 1 2/3 innings against the Pirates on Thursday after a two-out walk in the second inning started a spiral.

That walk, to Pirates right fielder Ronny Simon, started a stretch in which seven consecutive hitters reached safely, erasing the Brewers’ 1-0 lead and knocking Harrison out of the game.

Like so many of his recent outings, there was some bad luck involved. It went like this:

• Walk
• Infield single
• Catcher’s interference
• Two-run double on a 1-2 fastball
• Two-run single on a 2-2 fastball
• Hit by pitch on a changeup that hit Bryan Reynolds’ foot
• Walk after a 1-2 count
• Hit by pitch, RBI on a slurve that grazed Brandon Lowe’s hand

Chad Patrick took over at that point and stranded the bases loaded to spare Harrison further damage to his ERA.

For Harrison, a 25-year-old acquired in a six-player trade with the Red Sox just as Spring Training was getting underway, this slump came on quickly. Just three months ago, the Brewers were billing both Jacob Misiorowski and Harrison as serious candidates for the National League All-Star team. Harrison finished May with a 1.57 ERA, besting 2008 CC Sabathia for the lowest ERA for a left-handed pitcher through his first 10 starts with the Brewers. An eight-run outing on June 8 against the A’s in Las Vegas was shrugged off as a blip because of the extreme hitter-friendly conditions. Toss that outing aside, and Harrison’s ERA by the end of June would have been a sparkling 1.93.