Brewers score seven in eighth for 9-3 comeback over Diamondbacks

Box Score

Today’s game featured a start between Adrian Houser and Caleb Smith. It didn’t start well for Houser, who allowed a walk and a single to start the game. Two batters after that, Christian Walker hit a three-run home run to give the Diamondbacks an early 3-0 lead. Houser continued to have trouble in the first, allowing another single and a walk before Phil Bickford came in to finish the inning. Bickford got out of the inning, getting a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first, the Brewers responded with Kolten Wong leading off with a solo home run. Christian Yelich had a double and Avisail Garcia had a single to put two more runners on base, but neither scored to keep it a 3-1 lead after one inning.

Houser returned in the second and did allow a double to Tim Locastro, but nothing else in the inning. Houser walked at the plate in the bottom of the second, but the Brewers didn’t do anything else. In the third, Houser allowed a single but that was it. The Brewers then put together a threat in the bottom of the third, with singles from Keston Hiura and Yelic. However, Hiura was caught stealing third, and then Garcia hit into a double play to end the inning.

Houser’s last inning was the fourth, where he allowed another single but nothing else. That ended the day for him, allowing three runs in the first but nothing else after that. He also allowed six hits and two walks, but just struck out one.

After a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth for the Brewers, Justin Topa came in for the fifth inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his only inning of work to keep it a 3-1 game. In the bottom of the fifth, the Brewers went down in order again, with Ryan Butcher replacing Caleb Smith after the first batter. Smith allowed just the one run in 4.1 innings, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out six times.

Josh Hader came in for an inning of work in the sixth inning. He allowed a walk to start the inning, but struck out two to end the inning and keep it a 3-1 game. Yoan Lopez came in for the sixth inning, and Billy McKinney (who had come in to replace Yelich earlier) hit a solo home run to close the Brewers deficit to 3-2.

The seventh inning went by relatively quietly. J.P. Feyereisen came in relief and worked around a walk for a scoreless inning. Anthony Swarzak pitched on the Diamondbacks side, striking out two in a 1-2-3 inning. Brent Suter got an inning of work in the eighth, also pitching a perfect inning to keep the game at 3-2.

Tyler Clippard came in for the Diamondbacks in the eighth, and the Brewers took full advantage. Luis Urias led off the inning with a double, and Brice Turang singled to put runners at the corners. Turang then stole second to put two runners in scoring position, and Luke Maile walked to load the bases. A wild pitch advanced the runners and allowed Urias to score, tying the game at 3-3. Then, with McKinney up for his second at-bat, he hit his second home run of the day, a three-run shot that gave the Brewers a 6-3 lead.

That wasn’t it for the Brewers. Corey Ray followed that up with a single and stole second with Dustin Peterson up. Peterson then reached when he was hit by a pitch, and a double steal moved them up to second and third. That was the end of the day for Clippard, who was replaced by Taylor Guilbeau. It didn’t stop the Brewers momentum, as a throwing error by him on a pickoff attempt scored Ray and increased the Brewers lead to 7-3. Guilbeau then walked Zach Green and Pablo Reyes, with a wild pitch on the walk scoring Peterson to push it to an 8-3 lead. Garrett Mitchell flew out as the ninth batter of the inning for the Brewers first out. Urias walked to load the bases again, and Turang grounded into a force out to score another run, making it a 9-3 game. Tyler Gilbert replaced Guilbeau from there to end the inning with a strikeout to Maile. Angel Perdomo ended the game for the Brewers in relief in the ninth, striking out the side to end the game.

The third spot in the Brewers’ batting order was very productive today, with Christian Yelich going 2-for-2 before Billy McKinney also went 2-for-2. That accounted for 4 of the Brewers 10 hits in the game. McKinney also had 4 RBI in the game. Six other batters had a hit, and the offense also drew five walks. They also had went 4-for-5 in stolen base attempts, with Ray leading the way with 2 stolen bases.

On the pitching side, Houser allowed three runs in the first but settled down after that. Meanwhile, the bullpen was strong, allowing no hits and two walks while striking out seven.

The Brewers are back on the road tomorrow, traveling to Goodyear to face the Reds. The Brewers will have Brett Anderson start that game, while the Reds have not announced their starter yet. It will be a night game, with the first pitch set for 8:05 PM.