There’s no slowing down the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pittsburgh Pirates can attest to that.

The Pirates lost their fifth straight game and were swept for the ninth time this season Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field in Milwaukee as the Brewers punished Mitch Keller and the Pirates’ bullpen on the way to a 12-5 win, their 12th straight.

The Brewers outscored the Pirates, 33-6, over their three-game set.

“I thought we swung the bats better today and had better at-bats and put up a good fight. They just continued to add on there,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast.

Keller shut down the Brewers through two innings, but they scratched together two runs in the third and four in the fourth before pouring it on in the later innings. Keller lasted four innings, his third-shortest outing of the season, allowing eight hits and six earned runs while striking out five and walking two.

Milwaukee third baseman Anthony Seigler singled to leadoff the third inning and advanced to second when Jack Suwinski bobbled the ball in center field. Seigler later moved to third on a Joey Ortiz groundout and scored on a Sal Frelick single.

Christian Yelich drove in Frelick with a single three batters later to make it 2-0.

The Brewers scored all four of their runs in the fourth with two outs. Isaac Collins, William Contreras, Ortiz and Frelick each drove in a run as they recorded four straight hits.

“I think we started off good, but the troubles came from just not executing with two strikes,” Keller said. “I just have to be better when I get to two strikes … I just didn’t locate it where I needed to. When it’s an 0-0 count and I’m trying to throw strikes, I get ahead. Contreras made a good swing on it and got a single through the hole, and two runs scored. There’s not much I can do about that. I’m trying to throw a strike and try to execute how I want to.”

Despite the Pirates failing to produce in crucial situations early, Bryan Reynolds went 3 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs, providing a spark for the offense.

Reynolds cut Milwaukee’s lead in half with a three-run homer in the sixth and added a two-run shot an inning later to make it 6-5.

“He swung the bat really well today,” Kelly said. “The first one he hit off of (Shelby) Miller, he absolutely crushed it. Then, the one to right center, a line drive, which is a really good sign for him, staying pull-side in the air like that.”

The Pirates’ bullpen couldn’t keep it close, however. Carmen Mlodzinski worked two innings and allowed one hit but gave up two runs in the sixth when Contreras singled home Ortiz and Frelick after back-to-back walks to start the frame.

Right-hander Kyle Nicolas gave up another run in the seventh. He was pulled after recording one out and loading the bases. Cam Sanders walked Contreras, who finished with four RBIs, and then gave up a two-run single to Yelich to make it 12-5. Nicolas was charged with all four runs.

The Brewers went 8 for 14 with runners in scoring position and consistently put pressure on the Pirates defense by stealing three bases and moving first to third on hits through the infield.

The Pirates tallied 12 hits and put themselves in position to score but came up short. They went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. They failed to convert two early opportunities as Nick Gonzales stranded Reynolds at third in the first inning with a groundout to second base.

Ronny Simon, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday morning when Oneil Cruz was placed on the 7-day concussion list, struck out an inning later with runners on second and third. Jared Triolo also faltered in the fifth when he stranded runners on second and third after Joey Bart’s ground-rule double.

The Pirates now head to Chicago to face the Cubs in a three-game series and are looking to maintain the offense they were able to produce against the Brewers.

“Yesterday was a really tough loss. Today was tough, but I liked the fight a little bit more there,” Kelly said. “We continued to battle, continued to have good at-bats, even there in the ninth inning, we had good at-bats and got a couple guys on. We need to carry that over to Chicago. It’s going to be a tough series there, but looking forward to playing at Wrigley.”

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