Brewers score five late to take 7-2 win over Diamondbacks

WP: Junior Guerra (3-3)
LP: Patrick Corbin (4-1)

HR: Jonathan Villar (2), Tyler Saladino (1)

Box Score

It took a little bit to get going, but the Brewers kept up the offense that they had found in Colorado and brought it to Arizona.

After the first five Brewers batters recorded outs to begin the game, the bottom of the lineup got the Brewers on the board. With two outs, Manny Pina got on base with a double, then Jonathan Villar singled to put runners at first and third. Orlando ARcia finished it up with a double of his own, driving in two runs to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

The Diamondbacks responded in the bottom of the fourth inning. A walk to Daniel Descalso and a single to Paul Goldschmidt put two runners on base with no outs. After A.J. Pollock flew out, Steven Souza Jr. doubled to put the Diamondbacks on the board at 2-1. Junior Guerra then walked Ketel Marte to load the bases, and Nick Ahmed hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2, but the damage was limited there.

Beyond his struggles in the fourth inning, Guerra had a good day. He pitched six innings, allowing just those two runs in the fourth inning, along with three hits and four walks, with three strikeouts. Almost all of that was in the fourth, and outside of the fourth inning, he allowed just two walks and a single. Guerra might have had another inning in him, had the Brewers not had a strong seventh inning on offense.

Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin pitched into the sixth, but was taken out after Manny Pina and Jonathan Villar singled to lead off the inning. The Diamodnbacks brought in their league leading bullpen, but that didn’t stop the Brewers. Facing Diamodnbacks reliever Yoshihisa Hirano, Orlando Arcia grounded into a fielder’s choice and Pina was out at home as he tried to score. Craig Counsell then elected to have Christian Yelich pinch-hit, and the Diamondbacks responded by bringing in Andrew Chafin. On the first pitch, Yelich hit a single to left, bringing in Villar and giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead. The Diamonbacks made another pitching change with Jimmie Sherfy, and he walked Lorenzo Cain before Domingo Santana hit a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 4-2.

While that was enough to win, the Brewers offense didn’t take any risks. In the ninth, Jonathan Villar led off with a home run to up the lead to 5-2. Then, after Christian Yelich singled, Tyler Saladino came in as a pinch hitter, and also hit a home run, though his did not leave the park. It brought in two runs as the Brewers upped their lead to 7-2, which would be the final score. It was also the 28th inside-the-park home run in franchise history, and the first to come as a pinch hitter.

On offense, it was the five to nine spots that produced tonight. They combined for nine of the ten hits on offense. Manny Pina went 2-for-4, Jonathan Villar went 3-for-4, and Christian Yelich was 2-for-2 after entering the game as a pinch hitter.

Meanwhile, the Brewers bullpen continued their dominance tonight. Josh Hader pitched two innings and struck out two, though did allow two hits. Taylor Williams finished off the game with a clean inning of work. The Brewers are still undefeated in games where Josh Hader pitches, going 15-0 in those games.

The series continues tomorrow evening in Arizona. Jhoulys Chacin is back on the mound, while the Brewers will face old friend Zack Greinke. First pitch is at 8:40 pm.