Another balanced effort by the offense leads the Brewers to another win
The Brewers bats have come out of the break swinging. They put together another strong performance today, rallying from behind twice to defeat the Rockies 10-9.
The offense started quick, with Christian Yelich hitting a leadoff triple and Willy Adames bringing him in on a sacrifice fly. That gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead after just two batters. The Brewers then loaded the bases thanks to some miscues from the Rockies. After Rowdy Tellez singled and was swapped for Andrew McCutchen on a force out, Kolten Wong struck out but reached first as the strikeout was on a wild pitch. Hunter Renfroe was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. That brought up Luis Urias, who hit a ball through the infield that the Rockies couldn’t handle, scoring two and putting the Brewers ahead 3-0.
The Rockies chipped away at the lead, getting a run in the second on a Randal Grichuk RBI single and another in the third on a Charlie Blackmon RBI single. However, a two-run home run by Renfroe got those runs back, and the Brewers had a 5-2 lead after three innings. The Rockies rallied again, cutting the lead to 5-4 on a Kris Bryant two-run home run in the fifth. Eric Lauer’s day ended one batter later with a walk. He allowed four runs on six hits and three walks, striking out just three.
Jandel Gustave came on in relief and finished the fifth with no more runs allowed. However, he fell apart in the sixth inning. The first four batters all reached base, loading the bases and tying the game at 5-5. A groundout got the first out of the inning, but also gave the Rockies their first lead at 6-5. Gustave struck out Bryant before being pulled for Hoby Milner, who struck out Blackmon to end the inning. The Brewers rallied in the bottom of the inning, with a Tyrone Taylor solo home run tying the game back up at 6-6.
Brad Boxberger came in for the seventh to try and hold the tie, but the Rockies got to him as well. The Rockies loaded the bases again as three of their first four batters reached base (two walks and a single). Elias Diaz drove two of them in with an RBI single, and the Rockies had the lead again at 8-6. The Brewers got another run back in the bottom of the inning, with back-to-back doubles from Andrew McCutchen and Mike Brosseau closed the gap to 8-7.
Brent Suter took the top of the eighth inning, and the Rockies looked poised to score more with their first two batters reaching on a double and hit by pitch. However, Suter locked it down from there and got the next three batters out to keep the game at 8-7, marking three innings without a run allowed since the break for Suter, all of which came in high-leverage situations.
The Brewers took full advantage in the bottom of the inning. Rockies reliever Alex Colome started the inning with two groundouts. From there, Yelich walked to get a runner on base. Adames singled to put runners at first and second. Tellez then tied the game with an RBI single, driving in Yelich and tying the game at 8-8. Right after him was McCutchen, who hit his second double to drive in Adames and Tellez, and the Brewers had a 10-8 lead.
Josh Hader came in for the ninth inning, looking to put his recent struggles behind him. He struck out two to begin the inning, but then allowed a triple to Garrett Hampson. Yonathan Daza drove him in with a bloop single to cut the Brewers lead to 10-9. However, that was it as Kris Bryant grounded out on an up-and-in pitch to end the game, and the Brewers secured the 10-9 win.
Six different Brewers on offense reached base at least twice. Renfroe was on base three times (two hits and a HBP), and Yelich, Adames, Tellez, McCutchen and Urias also each reached base twice. Seven of the Brewers 12 hits went for extra bases (four doubles, one triple and two home runs). The team was 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The Brewers and Rockies will finish their series with a rare Monday series finale. Aaron Ashby will face Kyle Freeland in the final game of the series. First pitch is at 7:10 PM, and the game will be on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.