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Sweet Sixteen

PITTSBURGH — After this one, the Pittsburgh Pirates have to be wondering if they’ll ever beat the Milwaukee Brewers again.

Seemingly in control of the game with a two-run lead in the eighth inning and ace Paul Maholm mowing down hitters, the Pirates watched in horror Monday night at PNC Park as the Brewers continued their domination with a stunning

7-4 victory.

It was the 16th consecutive victory for the Brewers over the Pirates, the longest streak in the majors since Arizona pulled the same trick against Cincinnati from 2001-’03.

“It’s got to add to their frustration a little bit,” said Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun, who played a huge role in the comeback despite not being on the premises when the game began.

The victory was a credit to many of the participants, including Yovani Gallardo, who didn’t show up with nearly the stuff he had in beating the Pirates, 1-0, last week at Miller Park. But Gallardo fought through seven innings, allowing three runs and keeping the game within striking distance.

“I just kept battling, trying to get as deep in the game as I could,” said Gallardo, who stranded Brandon Moss at third base in the second after Moss tripled in a run with no outs. “I just wanted to give us a chance to come back.”

It didn’t look promising against Maholm, who surrendered a first-inning run before settling in and taking control of the game. The Brewers appeared done when they put runners on first and third in the fourth inning with no outs but couldn’t push across a run.

Pittsburgh third baseman Andy LaRoche led off the bottom of the inning with a home run off the foul pole in left, snapping a 1-1 tie. When the Pirates added another run in the fifth on Nate McLouth’s RBI single, Maholm appeared to have all of the cushion he would need.

But the Brewers seem to have a special hex on the Pirates at present, and it began to manifest itself in the eighth inning. Pittsburgh manager John Russell removed Maholm after he issued a one-out walk to J.J. Hardy, and reliever Tyler Yates caught a break when first baseman umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Rickie Weeks did not check his swing on a low 3-2 pitch.

Lefty John Grabow came in to face Prince Fielder, who lined a single to center. Mike Cameron then worked Grabow for a walk to load the bases.

The next scheduled hitter was Chris Duffy, who took over for leftfielder du jour Bill Hall when he suffered a strained hamstring making a marvelous diving catch in the first inning. Instead, manager Ken Macha called on Braun, who arrived at the ballpark in the second inning after having an MRI on his ailing back earlier in the day in Milwaukee.

Macha checked with Braun when he suited up and was given the thumbs up for a pinch-hitting appearance, should the situation arise. So, Macha sent Braun to the plate and he delivered in an unexpected way, blooping an opposite-field double into shallow right to tie the score.

“I didn’t hit it particularly hard but if you stay inside of the ball, good things happen,” Braun said.

“I was not anticipating playing today. It was a crazy day, something I’ve never experienced before. I got here and got myself prepared to play.”

The Pirates still had their chance to pull out a victory when Jason Jaramillo doubled in a run off reliever Mark DiFelice in the bottom of the inning with two outs. They turned it over to closer Matt Capps, who was 5 for 5 in save opportunities this season.

The Brewers proceeded to put in a series of solid at-bats against Capps that completed their stunning comeback. After Jason Kendall and pinch hitter Craig Counsell singled, Corey Hart worked Capps for a walk after fouling off a bunt attempt for strike two.

J.J. Hardy tied the score with a sacrifice fly and Weeks crushed a three-run homer to left, his sixth of the season. You could almost hear the air rush out of Capps and the Pirates at that point.

“I’ve said it before. This team is so resilient,” said Weeks, who admitted he was as angry as he gets about the check-swing call in the eighth.

“It feels good to get a win like that but they’ll come back tomorrow and fight us again.”