MILWAUKEE — Following all the hustle and bustle of the MLB Trade Deadline, the Pirates still had a game to play. Ironically enough, it came down to the exact area general manager Ben Cherington addressed just hours earlier: the bullpen.
While reinforcements won't arrive until Tuesday, the current iteration of the Pirates bullpen did enough to secure a 4-3 victory over the Brewers Monday at American Family Field.
Spencer Horwitz drove in three runs with a three-run double in the third. Bubba Chandler allowed three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings. Gregory Soto, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery did the job protecting a one-run lead.
Those three combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out seven.
"It's really exciting to have some new guys who are definitely gonna play a part in the future," Montgomery said. "[Monday] just goes to show how good we can be and how good our guys are.
"I’m excited to see where it goes.”
The victory helped the Pirates (57-57) continue their 2026 success against Brewers, winning six of their first seven meetings this season with Milwaukee.
In that vein, Monday marked Pittsburgh’s fourth straight win over Milwaukee this season, something that hasn’t happened since July 9-Aug. 4, 2022.
The Pirates took advantage of Brewers starter Brandon Sprout’s control issues and grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third inning thanks to a bases-clearing double from Horwitz, who returned Sunday from a left hamstring strain.
Sprout fell behind in the count, 2-0, and grooved a middle-middle sinker to Horwitz, who ripped it into left at 103.4 mph.
That’s exactly what the Pirates expect from Horwitz, who entered the gamer hitting .286 with an .871 OPS against right-handed pitching this season.
"Definitely a weight off my shoulders," Horwitz said. "Feels like the first hit of the season again for me. Just happy to help this team win.”
After Sprout was pulled the following inning, Jake Mangum dropped down a gorgeous bunt and beat it out to score Endy Rodriguez, increasing Pittsburgh’s advantage to 4-0.
Sprout issued three wild pitches and also walked a pair in three-plus innings, which didn't exactly draw rave reviews from the crowd of 30,684.
Meanwhile, Chandler worked around two walks over the first four innings, not allowing a hit, before the Brewers finally caught up to Pittsburgh’s starter in the fifth.
Third baseman David Hamilton and shortstop Joey Ortiz had consecutive two-out singles, the second of those scoring a run when Ortiz lined a mistake slider into right for a base hit.
Chandler exited the fifth in style, pumping 101.4 mph past second baseman Brice Turang, but the Brewers struck for two more runs in the sixth.
First baseman Andrew Vaughn lined a low-and-away slider into right field to score a run. Then when Nick Gonzales couldn't handle Esmerlyn Valdez's throw to third and Chandler was late backing up, right fielder Jake Bauers was able to sprint home to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 4-3.
All in all, it was a strong outing for Chandler, who allowed three runs (two earned) over 5 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out five. It was enough for Chandler to improve to 4-8 on the season and drop his ERA to 4.49.
"He's handling the emotions extremely well, finding a way," Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Chandler. "Early on when he would lose it arm side, it would start to snowball a little bit.
"Looks like he's he's maturing and starting to figure out how to get back in the zone and dial it back to get back in the strike zone, which is a big part of learning how to pitch in the big leagues."
Rodriguez led the offense with three hits and also stole a base. Bryan Reynolds had two hits. The Horwitz double was Pittsburgh's only extra-base hit of the game, as the Pirates won for the seventh time in 17 games since the All-Star break.
Soto notched four outs, three via strikeout. Camilo Doval went 1-2-3 in the eighth, striking out Vaughn on a nasty slider. And Montgomery notched three strikeouts in the ninth, the last one aided by a smart challenge from Henry Davis.
The outing for Montgomery continued his recent run of dominance. Since the calendar flipped to June, he has produced a 1.35 ERA in 14 games (13 1/3 innings), giving up just four hits and five walks and striking out 26.
"He’s been unbelievable recently," Horwitz said. "I think everyone’s excited he’s with us.”
Around the horn
The Pirates have won each of their last five games played on the MLB Trade Deadline. … Mangum is hitting .330 (65 for 197) over his last 52 games. … Two key defensive plays to highlight: Mangum robbing center fielder Garrett Mitchell on a sinking liner in the fifth, preventing what would have been another run, and Jared Triolo's strong throw across the infield in the eighth.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.