Sunday Santana Slam and Nelson’s Gem lead Brewers to 9-5 win over Diamondbacks

WP: Jimmy Nelson (3-3)
LP: Patrick Corbin (4-5)
SV: Jacob Barnes (2)

HR: Domingo Santana (7)

Box Score

The Brewers offense is like a spring. You can hold it down for a while, but eventually you have to let go, and when you do, the stored energy explodes out of it.

After scoring six runs off of Zack Greinke yesterday, the Brewers continued their dominance off of Patrick Corbin today. The Brewers chased him after just 4+ innings, scoring seven runs on ten hits and three walks off of him. Most of that damage came from Domingo Santana in the fourth inning. Jonathan Villar and Orlando Arcia set him up with back-to-back singles to start the inning, and then after Jimmy Nelson moved the runners over and Keon Broxton walked to load the bases, Santana took the second pitch he saw and hit it out to right center, giving the Brewers a 6-1 lead at the time.

The Brewers also started hot in this game, loading the bases with their first three batters. Broxton led off the batting for the Brewers with a triple, then walks from Santana and Jesus Aguilar loaded the bases. Two of those runs came in from an Hernan Perez RBI groundout and a Manny Pina RBI double. Pina was also hot today, missing the last few games after getting hit by a pitch. He went 3-for-5 at the plate.

Meanwhile, while it wasn’t the dominance that Chase Anderson showed yesterday, Jimmy Nelson put together a strong game of his own. He also pitched seven innings, striking out ten and walking none. He did allow seven hits in the game, but it only hurt him in the fourth, when a Brandon Drury single and Chris Iannetta double scored a run.

The Brewers tacked on runs in the fifth and sixth to further support Nelson. In the fifth, Nelson helped his own cause with a bases-loaded RBI groundout. Then, in the sixth, Manny Pina singled to right field, and a fielding error by David Peralta allowed Jesus Aguilar to score. When Nelson left after the seventh, he had been staked to a 8-1 lead.

Unforunately, most of that evaporated in the eighth inning. Oliver Drake came out in relief of Jimmy Nelson and couldn’t record an out, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks. He only got 7 strikes in his 23 pitches, with three other pitches getting hit in play. Carlos Torres followed up Drake and came in with the bases loaded. He did record two outs, but also allowed two of his inherited runners to score. In what had become a save situation, Jacob Barnes came in to face pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt, who lined out to stop the damage and keep the score at 8-5.

The rest of the game went smoothly after that. Travis Shaw added on a run with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, and Jacob Barnes pitched a nine-pitch perfect ninth to finish the game.

With the current homestand done, it’s off to New York for a four-game series against the Mets, starting with a Memorial Day matinee. Matt Garza faces Robert Gsellman to begin the series. First pitch is at 3:10 pm.