González able to meet expectations in first start
And back and forth they go.
A night after the Milwaukee Brewers regained sole possession of first place in the National League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals flipped the script and pulled back into a tie atop the standings thanks to a big game from Nolan Gorman.
The slugging second baseman went 4 for 4 with a pair of home runs to almost single-handedly beat the Brewers, 6-2, at American Family Field on Tuesday night.
That gave the rookie two four-hit games against Milwaukee in his last three, not exactly what the Brewers want to see from a rival offense that already boasts two of the game’s most dangerous hitters in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and third baseman Nolan Arenado.
“He had a nice game,” is how manager Craig Counsell concluded his postgame remarks when asked about Gorman.
As for the Brewers, well, they managed four hits as a unit and just one – a ninth-inning double by Willy Adames – after the third inning as their four-game winning streak was snapped.
They also failed to take advantage of several of early opportunities against Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
All good for González
Understanding the expectations for him coming into the game, what Chi Chi González was able to deliver for the Brewers in his spot start was more than acceptable.
The right-hander, who was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins last Tuesday with the expectation of serving as a long man in the bullpen, hadn’t yet pitched for his new team before taking the mound Tuesday.
He was starting in place of the injured Aaron Ashby and delivered four innings in a 73-pitch outing.
The first inning was shaky, as the Cardinals quickly jumped him for three hits and a 2-0 lead, but he surrendered only a walk and Gorman’s first homer the rest of the way before departing in favor of Brent Suter.
González allowed four hits, three runs (earned) and a walk with two strikeouts and the Brewers trailed only 3-2 when he hit the showers.
“We got 12 outs, and going into it we were hoping we would get 12 outs, so him getting us to that point in the game was a job well done,” Counsell said. “We were definitely still in the game at that point.”
It’s been a bit of a weird tenure with Milwaukee for González, who made two starts in succession earlier in the month for the Twins before being cut loose.
“I think it was two days in Minnesota and then David (Stearns) gave me a call saying I was getting claimed off waivers, so I was ecstatic,” he recounted. “It was a five-hour drive to get here, then I flew out to New York and then it was the anticipation of when I was going to pitch?
“Unfortunately, it was because of an injury, but I got my opportunity today. I felt OK. A rough first inning. Gave up a double to Nolan (Arenado), they scored a couple then Gorman, he just went off today. He had four RBIs, four hits. It was just his night.
“If I clean up that first inning, I probably get to go into the fifth. But yeah, for the delay of not throwing and everything, I felt good.”
González, a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2013 who was making his 63rd appearance in the majors and 50th start, isn’t sure what awaits him with the Brewers.
He could be asked to make another start with Ashby not eligible to return until July 2 at the earliest. He also could slide back into the bullpen and serve in that long-relief role.
Either way, he’ll get the next few days to recuperate while he awaits his marching orders.
Offense was offensive
It looked like the makings of a big game with the bats.
Christian Yelich drew a leadoff walk from Flaherty, Adames homered to right-center one batter later, the Brewers tied it at 2-2 and the offense was off to the races.
Or, not.
Despite the right-hander fighting his command from the get-go, Milwaukee just couldn’t take the lead against Flaherty despite two more walks after the Adames homer in the first, two singles in the second and two straight walks to open the third.
Flaherty departed after that, and with St. Louis bringing in its big guns in relief next to nothing happened as Andrew McCutchen drew a fifth-inning walk and Adames doubled in the ninth.
That’s two baserunners and one hit over the final six innings, not nearly enough to beat a team like the Cardinals.
“We felt like we had Flaherty on the ropes a little bit in every inning, but the next hit just never happened,” Counsell said. “I thought that was really the key point of the game. We just really didn’t get that next hit when we had a shot.
“They went with their big relievers, and those guys did a really nice job.”
Flaherty, who was viewed as the Cardinals’ future ace, has battled injuries throughout the spring and this season and was making just his second start of 2022.
His five walks matched a career high, but the Brewers failed to take advantage of his wildness and mechanical issues.
Wonderous Willy
With his first-inning homer, Adames upped his season total to 14, tops in the National League for shortstops and tied for the most in the major leagues at the position.
Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers also has hit 14.
It’s interesting – intriguing? – to note that Adames is more than halfway to his career high of 25 set last season despite playing in just 47 games. He missed 20 games after a high left ankle sprain sent him to the injured list May 18-June 7.
With Milwaukee’s offense so reliant on homers, every one Adames can hit moving forward is going to be big.
Entering Wednesday, the Brewers had gone deep 90 times, second-most in the NL behind the Atlanta Braves (105) and tied for third-most in the majors with the Houston Astros.
The New York Yankees led the way with 112.