Chase Anderson pitches seven no-hit innings, Brewers offense backs him up in 6-1 win

WP: Chase Anderson (3-1)
LP: Zack Greinke (6-3)

HR: Jesus Aguilar (4)

Box Score

After five straight losses, this one didn’t look good coming in as the Brewers had to face Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke. However, it was Chase Anderson who looked like the ace today.

The game started as a pitcher’s duel today. After walking two to start the game, Chase Anderson retired ten straight batters before walking another batter in the fourth. Meanwhile, Zack Greinke was just as strong in the first three innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced.

It was Greinke who broke first. In the fourth inning, Eric Sogard led off with a double, then advanced to third on a Eric Thames groundout. Jesus Aguilar and Travis Shaw drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, and then Jett Bandy worked a seven-pitch at bat that ended with a ball that hit the left-field wall on a bounce, clearing the bases and staking Chase Anderson to a 3-0 lead.

The Brewers would continue to add on after that. Jesus Aguilar hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, and Travis Shaw scored on a Domingo Santana single to increase the lead to 5-0. That would be all for Zach Greinke, who allowed five earned runs on five hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. In the seventh inning, Eric Sogard drove in Orlando Arcia to further increase the lead to 6-0 off of reliever Tom Wilhelmsen.

Meanwhile, Chase Anderson continued to deal throughout his start. The no-hitter talk began as he made it through the fifth with no hits. He then got through the sixth, and then the seventh, with no hits on the box score and the talk building. However, it came into an end in the eighth, as Nick Ahmed singled up the middle to break-up the no-hit bid. That would end Chase Anderson’s day, who threw 114 pitches and allowed just that one hit, along with 11 strikeouts and 3 walks. The 11 strikeouts are a career high for him, along with 18 swinging strikes and 72 strikes total. He was also throwing his fastball very well, hitting 96 mph a few times.

Rob Scahill relieved Anderson and induced a double-play from Jeff Mathis, then struck out Daniel Descalso to end the eighth inning. In a questionable move, Craig Counsell elected to go with Neftali Feliz to pitch the ninth. Feliz walked Gregor Blanco to start the inning, then allowed a single to Chris Owings to put runners on first and second. Paul Goldschmidt singled to end the shutout and make it 6-1. It ended there, though, as Jake Lamb grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Yasmany Tomas grounded into a double play to end the game.

In the end, it was Chase Anderson’s game, and he got the celebration that went along with it.

One down note from this game: Eric Thames came out early with some leg soreness. He’s been dealing with it for a while, most likely because of the more intense MLB schedule compared to Korea. If Thames has to miss any time, it will leave the Brewers with a three-man bench, and any extended absence will likely need a roster move.

The series concludes tomorrow as the Brewers go for a series split and two wins in a row. Jimmy Nelson starts for the Brewers, and Patrick Corbin gets the start for the Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 1:10 pm.