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Brewers Starting Pitcher: Mike Fiers
Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jon Niese
SV: Francisco Rodriguez (14)
HR: Curtis Granderson (10)
The Brewers struck first with back-to-back-to-back singles in the first inning, all with two outs. Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez, and Adam Lind were the responsible parties. Aramis Ramirez would draw a walk to load the bases but Gerardo Parra would leave them there with a quick ground out.
The Mets would get the run back in the third inning on yet another home run off a Brewers pitcher. This time it was Curtis Granderson taking Mike Fiers deep.
In the fourth inning the Brewers gave a run away. Wilmer Flores drew a walk and advanced to second on a ground out. Then a wild pitch allowed him to get to third. A fly out from Kevin Plawecki gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
In one of those baseball oddities, with two outs Mike Fiers hit opposing pitcher Jonathan Niese in the bottom of the fourth with a line drive. The ball appeared to hit Niese in the back of the knee but he stayed in the game. Fiers reached safely and even advanced to second on a single by Jean Segura. Alas, he would not score.
The Brewers offense reappeared in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gerardo Parra laced a single and stole second base. Then Hernan Perez drew a walk. Fiers was pulled for Hector Gomez so he could lay down a bunt. That's exactly what he did and Jon Niese's indecisiveness let Gomez reach. With bases loaded Jean Segura drove in a run to tie the game on a sac-fly. However Hernan Perez also tried to advance on the throw and was cut down by a mile at third. Lucroy would ground out and the Brewers would walk away with just the one run.
The Mets would pay back some of the Brewers errors in the seventh. Carlos Gomez drew a walk. Adam Lind hit a grounder sharply up the third base side. It was going to be a base hit no matter what but Michael Cuddyer misplayed the ball as it caromed off the wall which allowed Gomez to score.
Jeremy Jeffress (0.2 IP) and Will Smith (1.1 IP) would combine for two scoreless innings and the Brewers would hand a 3-2 lead to closer Francisco Rodriguez. Back-to-back strike outs and a ground out would secure the victory for the Brewers and K-Rod's 14th save in as many opportunities this year.
The improve their season record to 26-46.
Outstanding Pitching Performance
Mike Fiers wasn't exactly dominant tonight. He did give up a home run and threw a wild pitch which ultimately led to the second run of the game. But in 6 innings he only allowed 4 hits and 2 walks (that's a 1.00 WHIP). He also struck out 7 batters. If you told me he'd give the team 30 of those starts a season I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Next Game:
Wednesday June 24, 7:10 pm CST: Jimmy Nelson vs Bartolo Colon