Back to back home runs from Yelich and Braun give Brewers 5-4 walkoff win

WP: Dan Jennings (1-0)
LP: Dominic Leone (0-1)

HR: Dexter Fowler (1), Tommy Pham (1), Marcell Ozuna (1), Christian Yelich (1), Ryan Braun (2)

Box Score

Five games into the season, the Milwaukee Brewers have made one thing perfectly clear: The game is not over until the last out has been recorded.

Of course, many might have turned off the game three pitches into it. On the first pitch of the game, Dexter Fowler hit a ball off Chase Anderson out to right center field, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Two pitches later, Tommy Pham hit one out to center field, and the Cardinals built that lead to 2-0.

Coming off of a strong Opening Day appearance, Chase Anderson was roughed up in this one. A home run in the third from Marcell Ozuna accounted for the other two runs Anderson allowed. In total, Anderson allowed four runs on eight hits and no walks, striking out three. All four runs were allowed on three home runs.

The Brewers turned to their bullpen in the fifth, and they made sure that the offense would have the chance to turn this game around. Jeremy Jeffress (1 IP, 1 H), Jacob Barnes (2 IP, 1 BB), Matt Albers (1 IP, 1 H, 1 K), and Dan Jennings (1 IP, 1 K) shut down the Cardinals lineup over the last five innings of the game. They allowed just three baserunners in those five innings, with another coming on an error. It was a dominant performance by the bullpen.

Meanwhile, the Brewers offense started chipping away at that lead. Orlando Arcia, Domingo Santana, and Christian Yelich put together three singles in the fifth to bring the first run in and cut the Cardinals advantage to 4-1. Then, in the eighth, Christian Yelich hit a ground-rule double to lead off the inning, and then came in to score on a single by Travis Shaw. Eric Thames added another single to put runners on first and second, and Jonathan Villar singled to bring the Brewers within one at 4-3.

The game came down to the ninth inning, and Eric Sogard flew out and Lorenzo Cain struck out to put the Brewers down to their last out. Christian Yelich came up to bat, and on a 2-2 count, he hit a home run out to center field, tying the game at 4-4 and electrifying the Miller Park crowd. As the crowd began to catch their breath, Ryan Braun came up to the plate, and on the first pitch, he sent everyone into a frenzy with a walk off home run.

In the game, Christian Yelich was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. He is batting .435/.458/.652 in 5 games so far. Ryan Braun was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Jonathan Villar also hadded in two hits in the game. The Brewers offense totaled twelve hits, ten of those coming in the fifth inning or later.

Meanwhile, here are some quick facts about tonight’s game:

Just like there was little time to catch your breath between those back to back game winning home runs, there’s little time to relax before the next game. The Brewers and Cardinals play the rubber match of their three-game series tomorrow night. Carlos Martinez pitches for the Cardinals, and Jhoulys Chacin is back up for the Brewers. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.