Chourio, elite bullpen the difference in Brewers’ 6-5 win over Marlins

Chourio’s late RBI secures hard-fought win

Box Score

In the Brewers’ 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins, the fireworks came in the form of a back-and-forth game filled with lead changes. While the result was up in the air for much of the evening, a lockdown bullpen performance and some clutch hitting locked up a win in the series opener.

Brewers’ starter Quinn Priester was one of the primary role players in the chaos of the night. In the first inning, he surrendered back-to-back singles to the first two batters he faced, setting the stage for Miami to get onto the scoreboard early. A groundout pushed the first runner across, but Priester responded with a groundout and a strikeout to end the threat in the opening frame.

Sal Frelick was able to tie the game at one with a sacrifice fly in the next inning. Caleb Durbin’s single started the rally, followed by a Joey Ortiz walk and a balk by Sandy Alcantara to put runners at second and third.

William Contreras followed the sac fly with an RBI double to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

The third inning saw one of the wildest plays of the game, certainly the worst for Milwaukee. With a runner on base, Priester fielded a weak dribbler but overthrew the first baseman. Brice Turang, backing up first base, threw to third to try to catch Xavier Edwards advancing from second, but it was another errant throw. It gave Miami a free run with two errors by Milwaukee on the same play, including one by the usually sure-handed Turang.

With the game knotted at 2-2, the Brewers quickly responded with multiple two-out runs. Another notable play from Durbin secured the first. With two runners on base, Durbin spun a weak hit ball into the shallow outfield, allowing Chourio to score from second.

It was Ortiz who came through with two runs on a hit up the middle that deflected off Alcantara. It pushed the Brewers ahead 5-2, but once again, it was exemplary of an unconventional game filled with unconventional runs.

The Marlins weren’t finished yet, though, as Connor Norby scratched back a run in the fourth inning against Priester. With one out, Norby jumped the first pitch, a cutter down the middle, for an easy trot around the bases.

The next inning would see Priester surrender yet another home run, a two-run shot to Otto Lopez. It was another first-pitch ambush as Lopez tied the game at 5-5. Priester was unable to finish the inning, allowing two more runners to reach, and ended the night with 4 ²⁄₃ innings of work, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Priester’s night was turbulent, but his slider was often impressive, notching six whiffs on 15 pitches.

Ultimately, the Brewers broke through last to win the game, as Christian Yelich led off the eighth inning with a single, followed by a double from Chourio. The double was barely fair, but it gave the Brewers a 6-5 lead late in the game. It was Chourio’s 23rd double on the season as he’s heated up recently. In his last seven games, he has an .874 OPS.

Of all the offensive moments, it was all in support of a lockdown bullpen performance. Most notable was Aaron Ashby’s flawless appearance. Entering in relief of Priester in the fifth, Ashby went on to pitch 2 ¹⁄₃ perfect innings, including three strikeouts. The dominant outing dropped Ashby’s ERA to a stellar 0.93 on the season.

Abner Uribe followed with a three-up, three-down inning in the eighth, setting up Trevor Megill for another save.

Yet Megill’s night wasn’t as smooth as his two predecessors. After retiring the first two batters in the ninth inning, Megill gave up a single and a walk to allow the winning run to reach first base.

Facing his final batter, Lopez, the pitch count for Megill was already past 30 pitches, yet he struck out Lopez with a low knuckle curve to end the game, securing Milwaukee’s win and his 19th save.

The Brewers are back in action tomorrow night to continue this series against Miami. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. with Chad Patrick and Cal Quantrill set to start.