Brewers 2, Padres 1
Crew gets a rare Father’s Day win
Homers from Hernán Pérez and Manny Piña are enough for Jimmy Nelson.
The Milwaukee Brewers made it a “parental sweep” on Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.
Riding Jimmy Nelson’s first career complete game and solo sixth-inning home runs from Hernán Pérez and Manny Piña, they outlasted the San Diego Padres, 2-1, to register a rare Father’s Day victory.
It marked just the 19th time the Brewers won on Father’s Day in 51 tries, which is the worst mark in major-league baseball.
Compare that to their dominance on Mother’s Day, where they ran their major-league-leading winning percentage to .627 after beating the New York Mets on May 14 at Miller Park.
Nelson needed 118 pitches to finish his nine innings in this one, and he turned in the best performance of his career.
He allowed six hits, one unearned run and two walks while striking out 10. It was Milwaukee’s first complete game since July 11, 2015, when Taylor Jungmann threw one in a 7-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Nelson got through the first four innings without much issue, then his throwing error on Cory Spangenberg’s leadoff infield single in the fifth set up the Padres’ first run. With Spangenberg on second, Erick Aybar followed with a single to center to make it 1-0.
The Brewers cashed in against Luis Perdomo with – what else? – a pair of homers in the seventh.
Hernán Pérez led off with a solo shot to left, then two batters later Manny Piña sent one out to left-center to put Milwaukee ahead.
Piña’s shot also set a club record, with the Brewers having scored each of their last 15 runs at that point via the long ball. They now have 103 through 71 games.
Interestingly, it was Piña’s eighth-inning, threerun homer that helped lift the Brewers to a crazy, come-from-behind 11-9 victory over the Mets on Mother’s Day.
“My dad (Omar) told me, ‘Don’t forget I’m your daddy! Hit one today, too!’ ” Piña said with a laugh. “I didn’t try to hit a homer, man, but that happens when you get good contact and see the ball well.”
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Only two pitches had been thrown before there was a replay challenge, with the Brewers arguing first-base umpire Ramon De Jesus’ safe call on an Allen Córdoba bunt.
The call was overturned in 2 minutes.
Then after Spangenberg led off the seventh with an infield single, Brewers manager Craig Counsell unsuccessfully challenged De Jesus’ safe call in a review that lasted 2 minutes 30 seconds. STAT SHEET
Eric Sogard has a sixgame hitting streak and has reached base in 24 of 31 games this season.
Pérez has reached base safely in each of his last 13 starts. He’s also hit double-digit homers now for the second consecutive season. TAKEAWAY
Complete games have been a rarity for the Brewers in recent seasons, but Nelson dug deep to register the first of his career. It was the type of performance the team has been waiting for from the right-hander since he first reached the major leagues in 2013. RECORD
This year: 38-33 (19-20 home; 19-13 away)
Last year: 31-40 ATTENDANCE Sunday: 34,518 2017 total: 1,114,892 (28,587 avg.)
Last year: 1,086,466 (27,858 avg.) NEXT GAME
Monday: Brewers vs. Pirates, 6:40 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Matt Garza (3-2, 4.17) vs. Pittsburgh RHP Gerrit Cole (4-6, 4.54). TV: FS Wisconsin. TV: Radio: 620-AM.