One big rally by offense proves to be enough
The Milwaukee Brewers condensed most of their offense into one inning but that was a dramatic improvement from the previous night when it never showed up.
Bouncing back from a lackluster 7-0 loss to Pittsburgh in the series opener, the Brewers did enough to make away with a 5-2 victory over the Pirates at Miller Park on Tuesday night.
With the games dwindling, the Brewers could ill afford to lose more ground in the NL Central and wild card races. Holding serve is the bottom line these days and they did so in what became a group effort from the pitching staff (seven pitchers used).
The Brewers struck first on a two-out home run in the second by Eric Thames, who tomahawked a high 0-2 fastball from Pirates ace Gerrit Cole out to right. It was the 29th homer of the season for Thames, tying Travis Shaw for the team lead.
Lefty Brent Suter, making a start in place of struggling Matt Garza, put down the first six batters of the game before finding trouble in the third. A single by Sean Rodriguez and walk to Chris Stewart, both batting below .200, set up a sacrifice bunt by Cole.
Jordy Mercer sent home one run with a grounder to third and Jordan Luplow followed with a soft RBI single to center, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead. But the Brewers responded in a big way in the bottom of the inning, doing something they’ve struggled with – stringing together hits.
Keon Broxton singled and Brett Phillips, batting for Suter, did likewise ahead of a walk to Eric Sogard that loaded the bases. After Neil Walker took a dubious strike three call, Ryan Braun grounded into a force at
second, sending home the tying run.
After Braun stole second, the Pirates intentionally walked Shaw, which backfired when Domingo Santana yanked an inside slider into the left-field corner for a two-run double.
Thames hit a grounder into shallow right that second baseman Sean Rodriguez, playing deep in the shift, dived and caught but not in time to get the out at first. Shaw scored to make it 5-2 but Santana was out at the plate, trying to score from second without a slide.
The hits by Santana and Thames were significant because the Brewers had struggled all season with runners in scoring position and two down. Entering the game, they were batting .208 in those situations, ranking 28th among the 30 clubs.
Jeremy Jeffress took over for Suter in the fourth and issued a pair of two-out walks before Cole tapped out to the catcher. Jeffress found bigger trouble in the fifth when Mercer and Luplow singled with no outs, but he relied on his splitfinger fastball to strike out Andrew McCutchen and David Freese. Oliver Drake, a splitter specialist, then came on to get pinchhitter Josh Bell to ground out to first.
Relievers Jared Hughes, Anthony Swarzak, Josh Hader and Corey Knebel (35th save) covered it from there for the Brewers. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Jonathan Villar hasn’t started since the second game in Cincinnati last week in center field, when he misplayed a ball in center that cost the Brewers a run. Manager Craig Counsell played Villar – formerly the starter at second base – out of position a few times in center because he was swinging the bat well but has opted for defense, of late.
“We’re choosing to go with defense there,” Counsell said. “At second base, we’ve got other options. That’s how it has played out the last four or five days with the position players. That could change.”
The word continued to be a go for the Brewers’ trip this weekend to Miami despite devastation there by Hurricane Irma. STAT SHEET
Teams have been successful in all 20 of their steal attempts with catcher Stephen Vogt behind the plate but Counsell said it’s a matter of pros and cons because Vogt does other things well behind the plate.
“He has struggled in that area,” Counsell. “I don’t, to this point, think it has hurt us that badly. It’s something we’re working on. He’s been very, very good in other areas of the game. He has done a fabulous job with Zach (Davies), specifically, with the rhythm they’ve created during the game.”
Counsell noted that Vogt has come off a serious knee injury but added, “He’s not going to tell you that’s the reason.”
In his 263rd career game, reliever Jeremy Jeffress got his first plate appearance in the fourth. He struck out and Keon Broxton was thrown out trying to steal second. TAKEAWAY
After a dreadful showing on Monday, it was paramount for the Brewers offense to show some life against the Pirates on Tuesday. Another lackluster performance would have been costly.
RECORD
This year: 76-69 (40-33 home; 36-36 away)
Last year: 64-81 ATTENDANCE Tuesday: 30,331 2017 total: 2,274,523 (31,158 avg.)
Last year: 2,044,801 (28,609 avg.) NEXT GAME
Wednesday: Brewers vs. Pirates, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (9-3, 2.93) vs. Pittsburgh RHP Tyler Glasnow (2-6, 7.45). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-630.