Lots of changes in the last year for Lucroy.
His two-run homer in ninth carries Crew
DENVER - It had been a long time coming for Jesús Aguilar.
Mired in a 3-for-27 slump, the Milwaukee Brewers' backup first baseman snapped out in a big way on Friday night.
He hammered a clutch two-out, two-run, pinchhit home run off all-star closer Greg Holland in the top of the ninth as the Brewers went on to beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-3, at Coors Field.
The 449-foot shot to straightaway center came just in the nick of time for a Milwaukee team that had produced virtually no offense since the third inning.
Keon Broxton got things started when he was plunked in the elbow with an 0-2 pitch. He moved to second on a groundout by Orlando Arcia which brought Aguilar to the plate batting in the pitcher's spot.
Aguilar worked a full count from Holland before sending an 86-mph slider 449 feet out to straightaway center field to make it 5-3.
The Brewers weren't finished, however. Eric Thames followed by walking, then he stole second and came around to score a big insurance run on a Neil Walker single.
Rookie starter Brandon Woodruff was given a 3-0 lead with which to work in the third, and it was he who started the inning off with his first major-league hit – a single to center.
Thames, up next, lined a shot that split centerfielder Charlie Blackmon and rightfielder Carlos González and rolled to the wall. Woodruff scored and Thames wound up with a stand-up triple.
After Walker flew out, Ryan Braun drove in Thames with a sacrifice fly to center. Then Shaw followed with a solo homer, tying Thames for the team lead with 27.
Colorado cut into the lead when ex-Brewer Jonathan Lucroy dunked a single into center to drive in another ex-Brewer, Gerardo Parra.
Woodruff struck out Trevor Story and Bettis to keep the Rockies from building any more momentum.
It wound up being a two-out walk to Nolan Arenado in the fifth that ended Woodruff's night at just 81 pitches. With Parra due up, manager Craig Counsell went to left-hander Josh Hader, and he ultimately needed only two pitches to get Parra to foul out to end the fifth.
In 4 2⁄3 innings, Woodruff allowed five hits and three walks while striking out four. The right-hander threw a total of 81 pitches.
Milwaukee's bats went silent after the three-run third, managing only a pair of singles from the fourth through the seventh against Bettis.
Hader, meanwhile, got a 1-6-3 double-play grounder from Lucroy – the second twin killing he'd grounded into – to close the sixth but quickly ran into trouble in the seventh when Trevor Story led off with a double to left.
A strikeout got Hader back on track briefly, only to see Blackmon insideout a single to left field to score Story and cut the lead to 3-2. That brought on Jacob Barnes, who was greeted by a game-tying single by D.J. LeMahieu.
Nolan Arenado followed with another single before Barnes buckled down to strike out Parra and get a third ex-Brewer, Mark Reynolds to fly out to left. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
With Domingo Santana and Broxton each hitting their 20th homer of the season Friday, the Brewers have four players with at least 20 for the first time since 2012 when Braun (41), Corey Hart (30), Aramis Ramirez (27) and Rickie Weeks (21) accomplished the feat.
The Brewers have had five players hit 20 or more homers five times in franchise history, most recently in 2010. They currently have eight players with double-digit homers, tying a franchise record.
STAT SHEET
With a combined 3 2/3 scoreless innings of work from Jeremy Jeffress and Carlos Torres on Friday, the Brewers' bullpen dropped its collective ERA to 0.61 over its previous eight games.
Through his first four games with the Brewers, Neil Walker was hitting .467 with a homer and three RBI. He headed into Saturday on a sixgame hitting streak overall, putting together a .542 average with two homers and five RBI in that span.
TAKEAWAY
These were the kinds of games the Brewers weren't able to pull out during their post all-star break slump. Aguilar delivered a huge at-bat when it was needed, and Walker padded the lead.
RECORD
This year: 64-60 (34-30 home; 29-30 away) Last year: 54-70 NEXT GAME
Sunday: Brewers at Rockies, 2:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (6-2, 2.89) vs. Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 3.74) TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.