An offensive clinic in big inning
A little bit of this and a little bit of that.
The Milwaukee Brewers delivered a swift and decisive blow in the bottom of the second inning, a five-spot that turned a tie in Sunday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays into a 10-3 blowout.
And the way they did it made it perhaps even more satisfying.
Lovers of both small ball and the big fly could sit at the same table in Milwaukee's second inning as its offense piled up its plate with five runs to turn a 3-3 tie into a rout.
“That inning was just unreal baseball with the double, the bunt, got the homer, drove guys in, stole bases,” Brewers outfielder Tyrone Taylor said. “It was sick. It was a cool inning.”
Let's take a closer look at the inning that gave the Brewers the series win over the Blue Jays.
Taylor sparks the rally
When Taylor stepped to the plate to lead off the second, the Brewers already had Blue Jays starter José Berríos on the ropes.
They had a plan of attack: go after fastballs in the zone early.
After Christian Yelich led off the bottom of the first with a walk, Milwaukee didn't swing and miss the rest of the inning. Hits by Rowdy Tellez, Luis Urias and Omar Narvaez all came on fastballs within the first three pitches of the atbat.
“We were just trying to be on time for heaters,” Taylor said.
Taylor turned and dumped an 0-1 sinker on the inside corner into left-center for a hit.
It was a good swing, elevating a sinker bearing in on Taylor's hands, that was indicative of the Brewers day against Berríos.
Taylor, upon making contact, hustled out of the box and opted to test the arm of centerfielder George Springer, who just returned to the lineup Sunday from an elbow injury in his throwing arm and beat the throw with a headfirst slide.
Peterson lays down perfect bunt
Bunting, for both the Brewers and baseball as a whole, has mostly gone by the wayside.
Entering Sunday, the Brewers had only six bunt hits. And even that number ranked them in the top half of baseball. After seeing Taylor hustle into second, Jace Peterson decided in the ondeck circle it was a good time to try to make it seven.
“I knew we were tied right there and then Tyrone leading off with that double, it was a good time to try that,” Peterson said. “For sure get him over. I just went up there with it in my mind once he hit the double, I was thinking if they give it to me just try to get it down.”
Peterson executed a perfect drag bunt, pulling an elevated changeup down the first base line, past Berríos and into no-man's land.
Tellez punctuates the inning
Tellez opened the scoring for the Brewers with a two-run homer to center in the first inning, a critical play to cut the deficit to 3-2 after Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run homer for Toronto as the fourth batter of the game.
Up for the second time, Tellez had the thought in the back of his mind that Berríos might try to beat him with a breaking ball. After a get-me-over curve to open the at-bat, Berríos doubled up on it, only this time he left it right over the heart of the plate.
Tellez crushed it at 106.2 mph, sending a line drive screaming over the fence in right-center for his second two-run homer in as many innings to put Milwaukee up, 8-3.
“I think it really got us to the point where we were ahead and it's time to go,” Tellez said. “We put on a big inning against a good team and that's what put the icing on the cake.”