A pleasant wake-up call
Rowdy Tellez’s three-run homer woke up the home crowd as the Brewers snatched a 4-2 win over the Pirates.
The Milwaukee Brewers and their fans were doing a bit of napping Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field.
Then Rowdy Tellez woke up the place.
Coming off the bench with his club in need of a big hit, Tellez delivered in dramatic fashion with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with a booming three-run home run that sent the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that prevented a series loss at home to the last-place club.
Instead, the COVID-stricken yet first-place Brewers boosted their record to 65-44, best-ever in franchise history through 109 games, while keeping their 7 1⁄2-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 winners over the Minnesota Twins.
The Brewers learned before the game that left-hander Eric Lauer had tested positive for COVID-19, making
him the seventh player on that list at present and eighth to go on it overall in the last week and a half. Most of those losses came among the bullpen corps, putting some stress on the club in the latter half of games.
One of the relievers lost was closer Josh Hader but Devin Williams took care of the ninth inning, stranding a runner to record his first major-league save. Brad Boxberger got three outs in the eighth after the Brewers took the lead.
Tellez took some of the pressure off the bullpen with his bolt off left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve, a 423-foot shot into the second deck in right field. Luis Urias walked with two down and Manny Pina followed with a single prior to Tellez’s blast.
Fans were already chanting “Rowdy! Rowdy!” from the stands before he delivered his decisive blow and those chants grew even louder as the went back to an excited dugout.
“I think one of the only other times I’ve had fans kind of chant was the debut game (with the Brewers),” said Tellez, acquired in a July 6 trade with Toronto. “A lot of emotions behind that for me. But it’s so cool. Coming here, it’s just been kind of a blessing.
“I have always wanted to be somewhere where, you know, everybody wants to be somewhere where they can hear their name chanted and be wanted. It’s just great. The fans are awesome here. They’re loyal. I couldn’t ask for a better environment to be in.”
Of Tellez’s game-changing swing, manager Craig Counsell said, “It was just a good at-bat. He was aggressive on the first pitch, got behind 0-2 and then he fouled off some pitches, took some pitches down and finally he got one he could hit. Just a great at-bat.”
Right-hander Freddy Peralta started for the Brewers – his second consecutive outing against the Pirates – and continued his fine work with six strong innings. He allowed six hits, amazingly the most against him this season, but allowed only two runs.
Both starting pitchers had to work hard to get out of the first inning unscathed. Hoy Park led off the game with a bloop single to right but was thrown out at second by Manny Piña running on a 3-2 pitch on which Rodolfo Castro struck out.
Bryan Reynolds followed with a single to left and Ben Gamel stroked a hit off the glove of diving first baseman Eduardo Escobar. John Nogowski then hit a sharp grounder down the third base line that Luis Urías snagged with a diving attempt, bouncing up to throw a one-hopper to Escobar.
That throw clanged off Escobar’s mitt and Nogowski was called safe but the Brewers challenged it and replays showed Escobar caught the carom with his bare hand before the runner hit the bag, a juggling act that got Peralta out of the inning.
With one down in the bottom of the inning, Willy Adames drew a walk off left-hander Steven Brault, making his 2021 debut after suffering an arm injury in spring training. Escobar legged out an infield hit to third but Avisaíl García lined out to deep center, advancing Adames to third, and Tyrone Taylor grounded out.
The Brewers got on the board first after Kolten Wong belted a double to deep right with one down in the third. Wong moved up on Adames’ fly to deep right and scored on a good piece of hitting by Escobar, who reached out and punched a 3-2 changeup off the plate into right field for a run-scoring single.
Pittsburgh came back to tie it and as so often happens, it started with a leadoff walk, this one to Reynolds. He was still on first base with two down when Jacob Stallings pounded a hanging 1-1 curveball from Peralta to left-center for a double.
The Pirates threatened to take the lead when Kevin Newman opened the fifth with a double into the left-field corner. Brault bunted him to third but Peralta refused to give in, retiring Park on a pop fly to short and striking out Castro looking on a back-door slider.
Peralta was not able to escape after Reynolds led off the sixth with a triple into the right-field corner. Gamel struck out but Nogowski send a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-1.
The Pirates had a chance to do more damage after Stallings walked with two down and Wilmer Difo reached on a throwing error by Peralta, but Newman went down swinging to end the inning.
“Freddy pitched really well again,” Counsell said. “They got a couple of hits early. The first hit of the game, was just kind of off the end of the bat, a Texas leaguer. It was nothing crazy. He worked out of a jam in the fifth after the leadoff double, leadoff triple and they ended up getting one in but he pitched really, really well again.”
Reliever Brent Suter had to do some work to keep the Pirates from padding their lead in the seventh. With one down, Park smacked a double into the gap in right-center. After Castro flied out to center, the Brewers intentionally walked Reynolds, who had not made an out, but a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third.
Suter stopped it there by catching Gamel looking at strike three, a call he didn’t like that kept it a 2-1 game, and Boxberger and Williams took it from there.
RECORD
Overall: 65-44 Home: 31-25 Away: 34-19
ATTENDANCE
28,003
COMING UP
Thursday: Off day.
Friday: Giants at Brewers, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Corbin Burnes (6-4, 2.46) vs. San Francisco TBA. TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.