Brewers survive late rally by Astros to win third straight game

A four-run first inning was just enough to survive a seventh inning rally by the Astros

Box Score

With Chad Patrick on the mound, the Brewers staked him to an early four-run lead. He took advantage for most of the night, but a late rally by the Astros made it a close game. The bullpen kept them in check, and the Brewers won their third straight by a score of 4-3.

Patrick started the night with a 19-pitch inning but held the Astros to a walk from Isaac Paredes. In the bottom of the inning, the Brewers’ offense gave him some early run support. Brice Turang doubled off of Astros’ starter Hayden Wesneski, and William Contreras walked with one out. Rhys Hoskins brought them in with a double to deep left-center. It didn’t get out but hit off the wall and was plenty to score both Turang and Conteras.

While Hoskins couldn’t get the ball out of the ballpark, Jake Bauers did. He hit one out to center with plenty to spare, and the Brewers had a 4-0 lead after one inning.

It looked like that would be more than enough for most of the night. Chad Patrick cruised through the early innings. Though he needed 19 pitches for the first inning, he got through six innings on just 72 pitches. In addition to that, he carried a one-hitter into the seventh inning. All he allowed in the first six innings was a walk, a hit batter, and a double. He also added six strikeouts.

The Brewers tried to add some runs, but Wesneski settled in after that first inning. In the second, Jackson Chourio doubled and Turang walked with two outs, but both were left stranded. The Brewers tried some small ball after a leadoff single from Isaac Collins in the fourth, but Collins was left at third base. Collins got back into scoring position in the sixth with a walk and stolen base but was also left stranded there.

Unfortunately, the Astros got Patrick to break in the seventh. Back-to-back one-out singles from Yainer Diaz and Jake Meyers set the Astros up in the inning. Then, with two outs, Brendan Rodgers hit his first home run of the season, closing the gap to 4-3. That ended Patrick’s night, though it was still a quality start. He pitched 6 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing three runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit batter.

Abner Uribe finished the seventh for Patrick. The offense had another scoring chance in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Chourio single and Turang walk. They were left stranded again, though. The Brewers had their chances to score after the first inning but finished the night 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Uribe returned for the eighth, but the Astros offense made it challenging again. Jose Altuve drew a one-out walk for the first runner of the inning. That could have been disastrous for the Brewers, and it looked like it would be when Uribe spiked a slider in the dirt and it deflected off Contreras’ glove. However, Contreras recovered quickly and caught Altuve at second with a perfect throw.

After Contreras threw out Altuve, Paredes walked. Christian Walker followed it with a single that fell between Joey Ortiz and Collins. That put runners at first and second, and likely would have tied the game had Altuve still been on base. Manager Pat Murphy went to Nick Mears, who got the Brewers out of a bases-loaded jam on Monday night. Mears did the job again, getting Diaz to ground out and keep it a 4-3 game.

Trevor Megill took the ninth, and the Astros didn’t stand a chance. He needed just six pitches, all of them strikes. He finished with a strikeout of Rodgers to end the game.

Chourio was the lone Brewer with a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 at the plate. Turang was on base more, recording a double and two walks. Collins also reached base twice (a single and a walk). On the other side, a few Brewers had hitless days. Christian Yelich may have had the roughest of them, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Following the game, we received a couple of injury updates as well. Sal Frelick had an MRI on his knee, and it came back clean. His knee is swollen, and he remains day-to-day. With an off day on Thursday, the Brewers will likely try to get him a few more days off to recover. Frelick gave some details on the knee injury in a quote from Adam McCalvy:

Also, McCalvy notes that Contreras is currently playing through a finger injury. The Brewers did have an X-ray done, but didn’t have any other updates on the injury.

The Brewers have a chance to sweep on Wednesday before heading out on their next road trip. Quinn Priester gets the start and will face Framber Valdez of the Astros. First pitch is set for 12:10 p.m. and will be on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network. It will also be available on MLB Network out-of-market.