Yelich, Hader make it happen
MILWAUKEE — After Christian Yelich helped give the Brewers a big early lead, Josh Hader preserved the win that nearly got away.
Hader struck out Ozzie Albies with two outs and the tying run on third in the ninth inning to save the 5-4 win over the Braves on Wednesday.
“They put a nice comeback on him, had some good at-bats, but he finished it,” manager Craig Counsell said of Hader.
Yelich’s solo homer in the sixth inning was his 34th and tied the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger for the major league lead. It was Yelich’s third home run in four games.
Trailing 5-0, the Braves rallied with two runs in the eighth on Josh Donaldson’s two-run homer and two runs in the ninth on his two-run single.
Pinch hitters Charlie Culberson and Johan Camargo led off the ninth with singles. With two outs, Freddie Freeman struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but reached first base after the ball got away from Manny Pina and Pina committed an error with his throw to first.
Donaldson hit a two-run single to make it 5-4 before Hader struck out Albies and earned his 21st save.
Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson (5-2) gave up only one hit, a double to Brian McCann in the second inning, in 52⁄3 innings.
“He’s a decent player,” Anderson said of Yelich, joking. “When he goes into slumps, his slumps are hitting singles instead of homers or triples or doubles. So, to have a guy that’s on your team to impact the game on a daily basis the way he does, it’s huge.”