Giants beat Brewers, 6-2; Brewers defeat Reds, 10-8

Let’s play two! It was a split-squad doubleheader today, and the first game to finish up was at AmFam Fields of Phoenix against the Giants. It did not go well our boys from Maryvale.

Box Score

Freddy Peralta started for the Brewers and threw a clean inning, and the other two MLB pitchers in the game - Alex Claudio and Matt Albers - both tossed scoreless frames. 40-man roster member Marcos Diplan struggled in the fourth, though, yielding three runs on two walks and three hits, including a two-run homer by Mac Williamson. He couldn’t through his inning and was bailed out by 1.1 scoreless innings by Bowdien Derby. Jon Olczak struck out four in 2.0 innings with a solo homer allowed, and tiny left-hander Clayton Andrews tossed a scoreless frame. Conor Harber had some issues in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs and yielded two runs by the time he retired the side.

The offense could only muster three hits. Lorenzo Cain singled through the right side in his spring training debut leading off the game. He also walked in the third. Erik Kratz blasted a two-run shot in the fourth after Eric Thames walked. Jacob Nottingham added a single. Christian Yelich was 0-for-2 in his spring debut, and Travis Shaw went 0-for-3 with three punchouts.

The loss drops Milwaukee to 1-5 so far in their quest to defend the Cactus Cup title.

Box Score

The big bats rode the bus today, as it was an offensive outburst in Goodyear against the Reds. The Brewers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to Mike Moustakas’ first homer of the spring. Brandon Woodruff got the start and labored quite a bit more than his rotation competition Peralta in Maryvale, allowing three walks before matching Freddy’s scoreless frame. He later identified what he deemed an easily-correctable mechanical issues as the cause for his wildness.

Burch Smith, who appears to be stretching out to serve as rotation depth in the minors, tossed a clean second inning before getting rocked for four runs in the third inning. Daniel Brown, over from minor league camp, had to finished the the frame for him. Top pitching prospect Zack Brown coughed up another four runs in the fourth, putting Milwaukee in an 8-1 hole.

But the pitching would hold serve after that, setting the stage for an epic comeback by the offense. Miguel Sanchez, Angel Perdomo, Tristan Archer, and Nate Griep each tossed a scoreless inning. A three-run double by Jesus Aguilar in the the fifth cut Cincy’s lead to 8-4. Ian Krol uncorked a wild pitch with two outs in the sixth inning that allowed Tyrone Taylor to score Milwaukee’s fifth run. Then the Brewers batted around in the seventh inning, scoring five runs thanks to a Manny Pina RBI double, a two-run double by Chad McClanahan, and a two-run error made by shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez on a batted ball by Payton Henry. The game would end at a score of 10-8, improving Milwaukee’s record to 2-5 and snapping their four-game Cactus League losing streak.

Tomorrow, the Brewers head to Peoria to take on the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 pm central time.