What a blast!
Shaw’s walk-off HR gives Brewers victory in 3rd straight 10-inning game with Cubs
BREWERS 4, CUBS 3 (10 INNINGS)
Baseball can be a cruel game at times, but Travis Shaw prevented the Milwaukee Brewers from a fate almost unimaginable.
Facing a third consecutive 10-inning loss to Chicago and a fourth last at-bat defeat in a row, the Brewers climbed off the ropes Saturday afternoon when Shaw blasted a two-run homer that delivered a dramatic and essential 4-3 victory at Miller Park.
“It was trending in the way the last two games trended,” said Shaw, whose opposite-field shot off Cubs closer Wade Davis followed Ryan Braun’s opposite-field double with one out.
“The resilience of this team has shown itself, time after time, this year. When our backs are against the wall like today, this was as must-win as you get. We were able to come through.”
The Brewers playoff hopes took damaging blows in the previous three games, and yet another 10-inning loss
to the Cubs would have left them in dire straights with a week remaining in the season. The 41⁄2-game deficit to Chicago in the NL Central is likely too much to overcome but there is still the wild card race, where the Brewers pulled within 1 12⁄ games of Colorado pending the Rockies’ game later in San Diego.
In pulling this one out before an overflow bipartisan crowd of 44,067, the Brewers avoided defeat not once but twice. And they did it each time against Davis, who has been as good as it gets in sealing victories.
Orlando Arcia delivered the first crucial blow, lining a leadoff homer down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score, 2-2. How improbable was the home run? Davis had not blown a save in 32 chances this season, and the Brewers had been 0-54 when trailing after eight innings.
“I thought it might go foul,” Arcia said through translator Carlos Brizuela. “I was pumped. It made it a tie game and we still had a chance to win it. Davis is having a great year but you’ve got to look at it the other way. Travis is having an awesome year as well.”
Before Shaw could continue that awesomeness, the Brewers had to escape a feeling of déjà vu in the top of the 10th. Just as in the series opener, Ian Happ reached base against reliever Jeremy Jeffress, this time on a walk, and later scored on a groundball single up the middle, this time by
Jon Jay.
“The walk hurt J.J. but, again, he did a pretty good job,” said manager Craig Counsell, whose surprising team clinched a winning record with its 82nd victory. “It’s not hard contact that’s beating him.”
Once the Cubs went back on top, there was no question that Davis would go back out for a second inning, as he did in Game 1 of the series. With one down, Braun lined his double into the right-field corner, bringing Shaw to the plate.
“That’s as good a closer as you’re going to run into,” Shaw said. “He doesn’t really give you much to hit. Today we were able to scratch three across against him.
“He missed with a curveball on the first pitch, and I was going to see if he’d do it again. He tried it again.”
Davis hung this one, and Shaw went the other way, knocking it out to left to give him 31 homers and 99 runs batted in for the season. Leading off second base, Braun took his cue from Shaw as to whether the drive had the distance.
“You always watch the hitter’s reaction to see if he got enough,” Braun said. “I was hoping it would get out. He got
just enough of it. It’s a sense of relief a little bit. hat would have been the third day in a row to lose in the 10th inning.
“The emotional roller coaster you go through in a game like that is so unique. To be able to finish it on a high note is such a beautiful thing.” BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Catcher Manny Piña remained unavailable with a sprained left thumb, suffered making a tag on Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo at the plate in the 10th inning Thursday night. Piña was receiving treatment but the Brewers were not certain when he might return to action.
“It’s likely a day-to-day situation at this point,” general manager David Stearns said. “He has been receiving treatment regularly with the goal of controlling the discomfort.”
The off day Monday will allow the Brewers to skip the “bullpen game” they’ve resorted to without a fifth starting pitcher. Instead, it will be Zach Davies, Brandon Woodruff and Suter in the three-game series against Cincinnati. STAT SHEET
After going 0 for 23 trying to throw out runners on steal attempts since joining the Brewers, catcher Stephen Vogt nabbed Kris Bryant trying to swipe second in the sixth inning. The play came after reliever Jared Hughes replaced Suter on the mound.
Josh Hader’s 61 strikeouts in 44 innings rank fifth in franchise history among rookie relievers. John Axford is first with 76 strikeouts in 2010 in 58 innings. TAKEAWAY
For those wondering if the Brewers had any life left after consecutive 10-inning losses to the Cubs, the answer was yes. A third in a row would have been beyond cruel, but the Brewers avoided that fate by showing once again that resiliency is the team's best trait. RECORD This year: 82-73 (44-36 home; 38-37 away)
Last year: 70-85 ATTENDANCE
Saturday: 44,067 (10th sellout)
2017 total: 2,421,256 (31,445 avg.)
Last year: 2,191,497 (28,461 avg.) NEXT GAME
Sunday: Brewers vs. Cubs, 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (11-3, 2.74) vs. Chicago LHP Jose Quintana (6-3, 3.95). TV: FS Wisconsin; TBS. Radio: FM-94.5.