Brewers give up lead late, tie Mariners 7-7

Box Score

The Brewers avoided five straight losses on Saturday, but couldn’t get back on the winning side. A ninth-inning rally by the Mariners stopped the Brewers from getting a win today.

The teams traded runs in the first. After the Mariners scored in the top of the inning, Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second for the Brewers first run. The Mariners responded with three more runs in the top of the third. Lorenzo Cain got one back in the bottom of the inning with a single, and then the Brewers tied the game back up at 4-4 with home runs by McCutchen and Tyrone Taylor in the fourth.

In the fifth, the Brewers pulled ahead. Kolten Wong hit a solo home run in the fifth to put the Brewers ahead 5-4. Two innings later, Keston Hiura hit the Brewers fifth home run of the day, a two-run shot that put the team up 7-4.

The Brewers held that lead heading into the ninth inning, with Eric Lauer in the game. However, the first three batters reached base and one runner scored, ending Lauer’s day. J.C. Mejia entered with a 7-5 lead, but the first batter he faced (Joe Rizzo) hit a two-run double to tie the game at 7-7. Mejia got the next three batters out but the damage was done. The Brewers did get a runner in the bottom of the inning, but three strikeouts in the inning ended the game.

Four Brewers hit a total of five home runs in the game. They were led by Andrew McCutchen, who hit two home runs in the game. Tyrone Taylor, Kolten Wong, and Keston Hiura also added home runs as well.

On the pitching side, Adrian Houser struggled in his second start, allowing four runs and seven hits in three innings of work. Abner Uribe made his spring debut with a strong 0.1 inning, and Luis Perdomo had 1.2 scoreless innings pitched. Eric Lauer pitched as well, getting in work since he was scheduled for the off day. He started with three scoreless, but his ninth inning put three runs on his line. The pitching staff also didn’t get any favors from the defense, who committed three errors in the tie.

The Brewers take a mid-spring training break tomorrow with their one day off during their schedule. They’re back at home on Monday afternoon, with Corbin Burnes on the mound again. First pitch is at 3:10 PM CDT.