Thames, pitchers carry the day
One big swing by Eric Thames was all the Milwaukee Brewers’ offense could muster on Wednesday afternoon.
And once again, it wound up being enough.
Thames hit a two-run home run in the third inning, and Zach Davies and two relievers combined to limit the Cincinnati Reds to just three hits as the Brewers pulled out a second consecutive 2-0 victory at Miller Park.
Milwaukee managed eight hits but left nine runners on and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Thames’s blast off Tyler Mahle came after Jett Bandy led off the Brewers’ third with a single.
Thames’s two-run homer in the sixth inning Tuesday was the difference in that game.
“Remarkably similar games,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We found a formula that works.”
Davies (1-2) turned in his strongest start of a young season, going 6 13 ⁄ innings and allowing three hits and two walks while striking out a pair. Dan Jennings and Jacob Barnes followed, with Barnes pitching the eighth and ninth to earn his second save.
The pitching helped overcome a defense that committed a season-high-tying three errors.
The Brewers have posted consecutive shutouts for the first time since Sept. 18-19 at Pittsburgh and for the first time at home since they registered three straight from July 19-21, 2013, against Miami.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
BLANKED: Bandy was back in the starting lineup after rookie Jacob Nottingham gave him a one-game respite. Interestingly, Nottingham carved out a place for himself on Tuesday night when he became the second player in franchise history to catch a shutout in his first majorleague start. He joined Darrell Porter, who first accomplished the feat on Sept. 2, 1971.
WELCOME BACK: For the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained right oblique on April 8, Christian Yelich returned to action, starting in center field. Yelich who had been reinstated from the DL on Tuesday. He was immediately tested in this one when Jesse Winker opened the game with a drive Yelich misplayed for his second error or the season. Yelich then walked in his first plate appearance. He finished the day 1 for 2 with two walks.
CLOSE CALL: The blooper to short left field off the bat of Alex Blandino in the second inning looked like it could be trouble in more ways than one, with shortstop Orlando Arcia, leftfielder Hernán Pérez and Yelich all converging on it. The ball eventually ticked off the glove of Pérez, but Yelich was able to corral it as he slid past. Perhaps the best news was that none of the three players made contact with each other.
“There are going to be those balls — and they’re always dangerous — that have three guys going to the same spot,” said Counsell. “Yelich made a heck of a play; I think it just kind of landed on his leg and popped right up to him.”
CLOSING IT OUT: Jacob Barnes registered his second save of the season and the first two-inning save of his career. Josh Hader had a two-inning save on Tuesday, and now the Brewers have posted two-inning saves in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 10-11, 1990, when Chuck Crim (three innings) and Dan Plesac did it.
“We’re ready for any role, and obviously we’ve all been used in a lot of different roles,” Barnes said. “It keeps it entertaining. You never know when that phone rings who the person is who’s going to be called.”
HADERADE: Hader has struck out at least three batters in all seven of his appearances this season. That ties him with Toronto’s Tom Henke (1989) and Kansas City’s Tom Gordon (1991) as the only pitchers since 1893 – the first season that the distance from the mound to the plate was 60 feet 6 inches – to record threeplus strikeouts in seven consecutive relief appearances.
RECORD
This year: 10-9. Last year: 9-10.
ATTENDANCE
Wednesday: 27,343
This year: 332,873 (33,288 avg.) Last year: 301,180 (30,118 avg.)
COMING UP
Thursday: Brewers vs. Marlins, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (1-1, 2.82) vs. Miami LHP Dillon Peters (2-1, 6.75). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.