Brewers beat Rockies, 5-3 on Eric Thames walk-off homer

WP: Corbin Burnes (2-0); LP: Wade Davis (1-5); Save: none; Home runs: Col - Trevor Story (21), Carlos Gonzalez (14); Mil - Christian Yelich (17), Eric Thames (15)

Yay! A Box Score!

That’s how you wipe a bad taste out of your mouth. The Milwaukee Brewers (64-49) can now forget the debacle last night in Los Angeles as they came back from a 3-2 deficit to the Colorado Rockies (58-51) with a two out, three run walk off homer from Eric Thames for a 5-3 win. It sure is nice to come down to the seventh hitter in your line-up and have the power that Thames possesses.

The Brewers started the bottom of the first like they were going to make life miserable for Rockies’ starter German Marquez, with two walks (to Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain) and an RBI base knock from Mike Moustakas in his first Miller Park at bat as a Brewer. Instead, Marquez made life miserable for the Brewers by retiring the next fifteen in a row, six by strikeout.

Junior Guerra was just as sharp for Milwaukee for four innings, allowing just one single and a walk. Trevor Story, however, hit the first pitch of the fifth inning out to dead center, tying the game at one. In the top of the sixth, Juni G walked lead off hitter Charlie Blackmon before retiring the next two, but Carlos Gonzlez took a low curve ball and lined it out to right for a 3-1 Colorado lead.

Yelich finally broke Marquez’ string of outs by drilling his seventeenth homer of the season leading off the bottom of the sixth, making the score 3-2.

Guerra worked through eight innings, allowing five hits and the three runs, with two walks and six k’s. Dan Jennings started the ninth against lefty Cargo, but Carlos’ topped roller turned into a single. Corbin Burnes came on and got the next three out with a strikeout.

Marquez worked seven innings for Colorado, and Adam Ottavino had a 1-2-3 eighth, setting up the ninth. With one down Wade Davis, who saves games well enough to lead the league with 31, walked Jesus Aguilar and Travis Shaw, but retired Jonathan Schoop on a pop-out to himself (actually, the infield fly rule was invoked). That brought up Thames, and his no-doubter on what appeared to be a high cutter (Davis knew it was gone as soon as Eric hit it) set off a nice celebration at Miller Park.

So the Brewers new-look offense looked a lot like the old-look offense...they scored five runs on just four hits, using the home run as the main weapon. Oh...and good pitching.

Game two of the three game set comes tomorrow night, and the Rockies will use Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.69) against Milwaukee rookie Freddy Peralta (4-2, 3.61). This will be Colorado’s second crack at Freddy, who’s dominant debut came against them earlier this season at Cours Field.

Game Notes

• That was Thames’ second walk-off homer for Milwaukee the past two seasons.
• Schoop continues to struggle at the plate (0-4, 2 k’s) but played well in the field. His strikeout in his first at bat was his sixth in a row.
• Marquez’ base hit shouldn’t come as a surprise; in 42 plate appearances this year he is hitting .350, with an OPS of .775. He also has a homer.
• Nolan Arenado went 0-4. Don’t get used to it.
• Thames hit the ball well all night, with two deep drives caught on the warning track, before his game winner. Yelich narrowly missed a game tying homerun in the eighth on a towering flyball caught just in front of the beer pen.
• Davis has now blown three saves against the Brewers in the last ³⁄₄ of a season, going back to last season’s tenth inning two run walk-off homer by Travis Shaw and earlier this season on a game tying, two out homer by Manny Pina to send the game into extras.