Late power surge seals win
CHICAGO -- It was a case of better late than never for the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon.
After scratching out a lone run over the first six innings against the Chicago White Sox, they rode three home runs over the final three innings en route to a 5-0 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Brewers went deep a seasonhigh-tying four times, with Erik Kratz, Jonathan Villar, Lorenzo Cain and Jesús Aguilar all getting into the act.
A strong 5 2/3-inning start by Jhoulys Chacín was also key, as he, Josh Hader and Taylor Williams combined for the Brewers' fifth shutout.
Unable to solve the off-speed array of James Shields early on, the Brewers managed a lone run over the first six innings. And that came from an unlikely source in Kratz, who took advantage of a Shields mistake in a 1-2 count and homered to left to lead off the third.
The frustration mounted in the fifth and sixth, when twice Milwaukee advanced runners to third with nobody out and failed to drive them in.
But it would be short-lived.
The Brewers finally tacked onto their lead in the seventh, when Villar homered to right to make it 2-0.
That shot came on the heels of a tremendous defensive play by Villar, who ranged up the middle to take a possible hit away from José Abreu and keep Yoán Moncada at third base.
It was at that point manager Craig Counsell pulled Chacín, who was at just 79 pitches, and inserted Hader. Hader blew away pinch-hitter Jose Rondon on three pitches, then tossed a scoreless seventh.
Chacín (4-1) allowed just three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Hader was also able to be pulled in the eighth after Cain led off the frame with a homer to left to chase Shields.
Then two batters later, Aguilar took Jace Fry out to right-center to up the advantage to 5-0.
Williams pitched the final two innings to finish off the Brewers' first shutout since May 22.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
THAMES GETTING CLOSER: Counsell said Eric Thames took his first round of batting practice Friday and that if all goes well over the weekend he will begin playing games Monday in Arizona. Thames has been on the 10-day disabled list since April 25 after undergoing surgery on his left thumb.
UP AND DOWN: A day after being recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs, Ji-Man Choi was in the lineup at designated hitter. It's already Choi's third tour of duty with the Brewers this season, tying him with right-handers Brandon Woodruff and Jorge López.
"If I'm being completely honest, it's been really hard," Choi said through interpreter Daniel Cho. "It's the circumstances with the team right now, and all I can do is play the best that I can. Just being here is such a blessing.”
GOING DEEP: When Kratz homered in the third, it gave him his first multihomer season since 2014, when he hit five in 68 games split between the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. Kratz, acquired in a trade with the New York Yankees on May 25, was playing in just his third game with the Brewers.
MAKING IT LOOK EASY: Cain entered Saturday with seven outfield assists, which led all National League outfielders and tied for the lead in the major leagues with the Angels' Kole Calhoun and the Orioles' Trey Mancini. Cain also ranked sixth in the majors and first among all outfielders with eight defensive runs saved.
"Lorenzo's just playing a really good center field," Counsell said. "He's been known as one in the league for a long time, and that hasn't changed one bit.”
STREAK SNAPPED: The Brewers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning Friday only to be outscored, 8-0, the rest of the way by the White Sox. That marked the first time all season they'd lost a game in which they led by two or more runs at any point, dropping their record to 29-1.