Jeffress has a tough day at the office
CLEVELAND - Another well-pitched game by Carlos Carrasco didn’t come as much of a surprise.
Seeing Jeremy Jeffress struggle did. Carrasco dominated the Milwaukee Brewers for the second time in as many starts against them this season, and the Cleveland Indians took control of the game in the sixth inning against Jeffress.
By the time all was said and done, the Brewers had fallen, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.
It was their third straight loss as well as their fourth in five games in the midst of an eight-game road trip that concludes this weekend in Philadelphia.
A day after facing limited opportunities against Corey Kluber, the Brewers had to deal with Carrasco on a quick turnaround.
The right-hander dominated them on May 9 at Miller Park, allowing just five hits and two runs while striking out 14 in a 117-pitch, complete-game victory.
Milwaukee collected four singles against Carrasco in the first two innings in this one, including three straight with two outs to load the bases in the second, but failed to cash in.
The Brewers finally got on the board in the third after Christian Yelich doubled high off the wall in left-center, Jesús Aguilar moved him over to third with a groundout and Travis Shaw singled him in.
Shaw had another golden opportunity in the fifth with runners on first and second and one out, but was unable to deliver as he grounded into a 3-6-1 double play.
Pitching without much of a cushion, Brewers starter Chase Anderson was still sharp for most of his short stint.
He worked around a pair of baserunners in the first by striking out Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso and then allowed just one hit and one walk over the next three innings before the Indians threatened again.
Rajai Davis singled with one out and Francisco Lindor followed with a walk to put two on for Michael Brantley. Against the shift, Brantley hit a bouncer to the left side that shortstop Eric Sogard was unable to reel in with a dive and Davis scored to tie it at 1-1.
Manager Craig Counsell pulled the plug on Anderson at that point, giving Jeffress the opportunity to face red-hot José Ramírez. Three pitches into the matchup, Ramírez hammered a double to right to score Lindor and give Cleveland its first lead at 2-1.
Jeffress (5-1) followed up by walking Alonso to force in another run, making it 3-1. The two inherited runners to score on Jeffress matched his season total coming in.
Strikeouts of Jason Kipnis and Yan Gomes kept the inning from spiraling further out of control. But with an already struggling offense needing to play catch-up, the Brewers faced an uphill battle the rest of the way.
Carrasco departed after seven innings, having allowed eight runs and a walk with 10 strikeouts. Three pitchers closed the game out for Cleveland, while Counsell was ejected by home-plate umpire Quinn Wolcott in the eighth. It was Counsell’s third ejection of the season.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
STILL CHASE-ING: After averaging a career-high 93.7 mph on his fastball last season, Anderson is down nearly a full mile per hour this season at 92.9. Anderson’s previous career high was 92.6 mph, set in 2015 while with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“This is where Chase has been the bulk of his career,” Counsell said. “We did have a little bit of an uptick for a while last year. I think figuring out how that happened is something that you try to work to, but there’s no potions for that, necessarily.”
GOING DEEP: Anderson came into Wednesday having allowed 13 homers in 602⁄3 innings compared to 14 in 1411⁄3 last season. Counsell was asked if the loss of some of the zip on Anderson’s fastball could be at least partially to blame.
“That’s the game – sometimes you get away with mistakes, sometimes you don’t. But you try to execute pitches,” Counsell said. “His ball, when it misses, is vulnerable to fly balls. And fly balls sometimes go out of the park.”
Anderson hasn’t allowed a homer in each of his last two starts.
STILL TBA: Counsell said he’s still determining who will start for the Brewers Sunday in Philadelphia.
One possibility could be right-hander Freddy Peralta, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his start in Fresno on Tuesday. He’d be in line for a Sunday start.
NOT SO FAST: Right-hander Zach Davies is eligible to be reinstated from the disabled list Saturday. The Brewers need a fifth starter again in Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, but Counsell said Davies isn’t a candidate to return that quickly. The right-hander is in the midst of his second DL stint in just over a month as he deals with right rotator cuff inflammation.
ANOTHER MILESTONE: With a single off Kluber in the sixth inning on Tuesday, Ryan Braun recorded the 200th hit of his career in interleague play, a total that ranks him ninth among active players since he made his debut in 2007. Coming into Wednesday he owned a .305 average with 27 homers, 114 RBI and 99 runs scored in 168 interleague games.
RECORD
This year: 37-25 Last year: 33-29
COMING UP
Thursday: Off.
Friday: Brewers at Phillies, 6:05 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Jhoulys Chacín (4-1, 3.39) vs. Philadelphia RHP Vince Velazquez (4-6, 3.82). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.