Brewers back in rhythm with dominant 10-2 win over Mariners

Priester impresses, offense tallies 17 hits in decisive victory

Box Score

The Brewers attacked Seattle Mariners’ starter Luis Castillo from the start, and with little hesitation, ambushed his fastball. Aggression early in counts and hunting for the fastball created constant opportunities.

It started in the second inning when Isaac Collins singled, and Tyler Black and Blake Perkins both doubled. Perkins’ hit went deep to the warning track to open the scoring, bringing in two runs. The Brewers were hyper-aggressive as those three hits came on a total of six pitches.

The Mariners equalized in the bottom of the inning, but Brewers starter Quinn Priester would rebound well. Jorge Polanco led off with a double to start the rally. Priester left a cutter over the middle of the plate, a pitch that had almost no bite, as Dominic Canzone took the ball to the warning track to bring home Seattle’s first run. The next came on a weak blooper that drifted into no-man’s land, tying the game at 2-2, but Priester was in control for the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, the Brewers’ offense was blowing open the scoreline, much of it courtesy of mistakes from Seattle in the third inning. Castillo was giving up lots of hard contact, but his defense failed him, too. Collins hit a weak groundball up the middle, but shortstop J.P. Crawford misjudged it, and the ball rolled harmlessly into the outfield.

Another mistake exaggerated Castillo’s issues. Anthony Seigler was drilled by a fastball right in the back, giving Milwaukee another free runner.

Joey Ortiz then came through with a hard liner just outside the reach of the diving first baseman. Collins risked a close play at home, but he made it in time with a deft slide to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.

Brice Turang hit a chopped groundball to third, a difficult play to be sure, but with Turang’s speed, there wasn’t even a chance at an out. That brought the score to 4-2.

Crawford misplayed another ball, this time as William Contreras hit a hard ball up the middle. It was an awkward play to be sure, much more excusable than Crawford’s earlier error, but it was yet another gift for Milwaukee as their lead grew to 5-2.

Once again, the Brewers’ aggression proved to be the dominant factor in the fifth inning. Jackson Chourio, Collins, and Black came through again with three hits to bring in another run. It took just nine pitches for the Brewers to add to their lead, the 6-2 scoreline another stepping stone in their dominant victory.

Castillo would leave the game after that inning, having struck out seven batters, but conceding six runs (three earned) on 10 hits.

Priester evaded trouble after that early two-run blip in the second inning, pitching through the sixth inning without allowing another runner into scoring position. Part of that came through a pair of double plays to end the third and fifth innings, but Priester showcased impressive swing-and-miss ability throughout.

The only worrisome moment after that came in the seventh inning as Priester returned to the mound due to his low pitch count. Yet after walking the leadoff batter, Luke Raley, on four pitches, Milwaukee got some action rolling in the bullpen. The lead was already immense by this point, so it was more regarding Priester’s finish to an otherwise impressive start.

He recorded two lineouts in the infield, but Ben Williamson found a two-out hit to extend the inning. His last hitter, Cole Young, hit an arching fly ball near the warning track, but it settled into Chourio’s glove to end the inning.

Priester finished with seven innings pitched, allowing two runs, striking out six batters, and allowing six hits.

The Brewers’ offense refused to relent, pestering the Seattle bullpen after Castillo’s departure. In the sixth inning, Chourio came through with a two-out, RBI single. In the seventh, Turang ripped a low sweeper from reliever Trent Thornton to the warning track for a two-run knock.

Contreras caught another sweeper, hitting it once again to Crawford, who misplayed another ball. It bounced into the outfield, giving Turang a free ticket to home as the Brewers soared ahead to a 10-2 lead.

Tobias Myers entered in relief and, to put a finishing touch on the game, the defense showed its quality as well. Myers struck out his first batter of the eighth inning. Then a groundball forced Seigler to make a throw against his body, and on one bounce, Black made an excellent pick to record the out.

Myers surrendered a two-out single in the ninth but finished the game with little trouble.

It was a complete performance for Milwaukee, bumping their record up to 14-4 in the month of July. The offense had 17 hits, and they came via a lot of hard contact, too. Six different hitters notched multi-hit efforts, including Turang’s three hits that combined for three RBIs. The Brewers’ win gave them sole possession of first place in the division.

The team gets an off day tomorrow before heading home for a series against the Miami Marlins on Friday. First pitch for that game is at 3:10 p.m. CT, and it will be on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.