Brewers split day with win over Rockies, loss to Royals

Brewers 5, Rockies 4

WP: Jimmy Nelson (1-0)
LP: Logan Cozart (0-1)

Box Score

The march to Opening Day continues, and Opening Day starter Jhoulys Chacin got some more work in today, while Tuffy Gosewisch had a big moment.

The day didn’t start out well, as the Rockies struck first in the top of the first inning. Nolan Arenado got on base with a single, then Trevor Story homered to stake the Rockies to an early 2-0 lead. The Brewers came back though, with Cory Spangenberg singling with one out in the third, and coming in to score on a Lorenzo Cain double. Christian Yelich followed that with a single to tie the game at 2-2.

The Rockies took the lead back in the fifth. Charlie Blackmon hit a two-out double off Chacin, and Nolan Arenado also doubled to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead. It was definitely a rougher day for Chacin, who allowed three runs and six hits in 5.1 innings of work, with a walk and four strikeouts.

Adrian Houser came in relief for Chacin and finished out the sixth inning, striking out the two batters he faced to keep the game at 3-2. In the bottom of that inning, Travis Shaw singled and Mike Moustakas homered to give the Brewers the lead at 4-3.

Jimmy Nelson came in for the seventh inning, and started out with a 1-2-3 inning. In the eighth, he hit Brett Nicholas with a pitch and allowed a single to Daniel Murphy, but got out of the inning allowing neither to score. In the ninth, Nelson struck out the first two batters to get one out away from the win, but a double from Mike Tauchman extended the game. Peter Mooney then hit a ball to left fielder Cooper Hummel, but an error in the field allowed Mooney to reach and Tauchman to score, tying the game at 4-4. Overall, Nelson allowed just that one run on two hits, with four strikeouts and no walks. His velocity was also in good shape.

In the bottom of the ninth, Weston Wilson started the inning with a line out. Keston Hiura followed that up with a single, then reached second with a steal and got to third on a throwing error from catcher Chris Rabago. Tuffy Gosewisch then singled to right, driving in Hiura and giving the Brewers a 5-4 win.

One extra note from this game: Baker Mayfield, who was in Brewers camp for two days, got a chance to be a part of the game. There was talk about getting him an at-bat, but since he didn’t want to risk injury, he was given another role in the game: first base coach.

Adam McCalvy has a full story on Mayfield’s time in Brewers camp.

Royals 6, Brewers 2

WP: Wily Peralta (1-0)
LP: Taylor Williams (1-1)

Box Score

Corbin Burnes started in this game and had a bit of struggle. He gave up two runs, both in the first inning on two singles and a double. He settled in after that, not allowing another run in the game. Overall, he pitched 4.1 innings and allowed two runs, four hits, and a walk, with four strikeouts.

The Brewers tied it up in the bottom of the fifth. Burnes walked with one out, and Yasmani Grandal doubled to put two runners on. Jesus Aguilar singled to drive them both in and tie the game at 2-2. Unfortunately, that was all the offense could put together.

In the sixth, Taylor Williams was in pitching, and led off the inning with a walk, single, and groundout to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. That was the only run he allowed, and he pitched 1.1 innings in total in the game. Rodrigo Benoit finished the inning and kept the game at 3-2.

Josh Hader came in for the eighth and had a 1-2-3 inning. He came back out in the eighth, struck out the first two batters then walked the third. Jacob Barnes came in to finish the inning, and allowed a single and a double, along with two fielding errors (one by Je’Von Ward, and one by Lucas Erceg). This increased the Royals lead to 6-2 (one run charged to Hader, two to Barnes) and that was the final score.

The offense did put together eight hits, and Grandal had a good game with two hits and a walk. The only other batter who reached base more than once was Burnes, who had a hit and a walk in the game.

At 12-11-1, the Brewers are two games back in the Cactus League standings, with nine teams within 2.5 games of first place. The Brewers are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to face the Dodgers. First pitch is at 3:05 pm, and it will be on the radio.