Brewers erase 6 run deficit, top Rockies 11-10 in ten inning thriller

WP: Jeremy Jeffress (3-0); LP: Jake McGee (0-2); Save: Josh Hader (6); Homeruns: Mil - Travis Shaw (8), Manny Pina (4); Col - Chris Iannetta (4); Carlos Gonzalez (4)

A jam-packed Box Score for your perusal

Thrilling, come-back wins are fun! The Milwaukee Brewers (23-16) erased a six run deficit and used a two-run, two-out ninth inning homerun by Manny Pina (off of Wade Davis) to tie the game at ten. Then a two-out rbi single by Travis Shaw in the top of the tenth helped erase the memory of a horrendous start by Brandon Woodruff for an 11-10 win over the Colorado Rockies (21-18).

The Rockies had five hits last night. They had five in the third inning tonight. And five more in the fourth. Those two innings combined for eight runs, Woodruff allowed a two out run-scoring double in the second but still took a 3-1 lead into the third; after retiring the Rockies starting pitcher, Chad Bettis, Woody gave up a single, triple, single, single, sac fly, and single as Colorado took a 4-3 lead.

The bottom of the fifth saw Chris Iannetta lead off with his fourth homerun of the season, followed by a single (from Pettis) and a walk. Craig Counsell had seen enough - in came Jacob Barnes. Barnes gave up two singles, a walk, and a triple and when the dust was settled it was 9-3 Rockies. Woodruff’s final line was 3+ innings, nine hits, seven earned runs, a walk, and one strikeout. Barnes line was one inning, three hits, two runs (earned), with a walk and a strikeout.

Milwaukee had built that 3-1 lead with single runs in each of the first three innings. Ryan Braun’s sac fly scored Lorenzo Cain in the first and Orlando Arcia’s base hit drove in Jesus Aguilar in the second. A Travis Shaw homer (number 8) was the third run.

After falling behind by six, the Brewers scored in the fifth on a two-out double from Braun and a sliced single from Shaw. The sixth saw a four-spot as they chased Pettis with three straight hits to begin the inning (Hernan Perez single, rbi double by Pina, rbi single by Arcia) and added a double by Cain (to third on the throw) an an rbi groundout from Christian Yelich. 9-8, Rockies.

Taylor Williams gave one back on a solo homer from Carlos Gonzalez in the bottom half of inning #6, and the Rockies held that 10-8 lead into the ninth. Williams worked 1 ²⁄₃ with the one hit, one run, and two strikeouts.

Milwaukee had had at least one base runner in every inning through eight, but Colorado closer Wade Davis (14 saves) retired the first two he faced in the ninth. Perez grounded a single into left for his third hit of the game, and Pina drove a cutter on the outside into the rightfield seats for stunning, sudden tie. This was the second consecutive blown save for Davis against Milwaukee, and he has now allowed three homers to them in those appearances; the last one was last September 23rd when he gave up a tying homer to Arcia and a game-winner to Shaw in the tenth after the Cubs had taken the lead in the top half of the inning.

Dan Jennings had 1 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings, Boone Logan a scoreless eighth, and Jeremy Jeffress pitched his second straight scoreless ninth to send the game into the tenth.

The Brewers had baserunners in the top of the tenth, too - a one out single from Cain, and a two out pinch hit by Tyler Saladino (his first hit as a Brewer) brought up Shaw against lefty Jake McGee. Travis punched a 2-2 slider into right-center, plating Cain for Milwaukee’s first lead since the top of the third.

Josh Hader was primed and ready for the tenth, and Colorado had their 2-3-4 hitters due (Charles Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, and Gonzalez). Hader Haderaded...a flyball to center, a strikeout, and another strikeout, and the Brewers had pulled off a signature win when the pitching wasn’t exactly top notch.

Over four hundred pitches from start to finish, plenty of plot twists and turns, and a comeback win reminiscent of last year’s Mothers’ Day win - right down to the crucial homer by Manny Pina. The teams combined for the 21 runs on 33 hits (17 by Milwaukee, a season high). What else ya gonna do on a cold night in Wisconsin but watch another last-at-bat win by the Brewers?

Game three of the four game set will see the Brewers’ Chase Anderson (3-3, 3.97) attempting to get back on track after two sub-par performances. Colorado will try and recover after a very disappointing loss, sending out Kyle Freeland (2-4, 3.95).