Offense silent as Brewers lose to Orioles 2-0

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers fell to 1-3 to open the 2022 season after a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon.

Adrian Houser got the ball as the starting pitcher for the Brewers. For the fourth straight game, a Milwaukee starter battled his control. While his sinker featured plenty of movement, Houser fought through traffic for most of his outing.

In the first, he issued a two-out walk that would have scored on a deep drive by Trey Mancini if not for an excellent catch at the wall by center fielder Tyrone Taylor.

In the second, Houser surrendered a leadoff single to Ramon Urias. Jorge Mateo and Robinson Chirinos, the eight and nine hitters in the Orioles lineup, drew back-to-back two-out walks. That loaded the bases for Cedric Mullins, who lined a base hit to center that scored the only two runs of the game.

The control problems caused Houser’s pitch count to rise quickly, prompting Craig Counsell to remove him after just 3 ²⁄₃ innings pitched and 76 pitches. The sinkerballer finished his regular season debut with two runs allowed on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Aaron Ashby relieved Houser and did his best to keep the Brewers in the game. He fanned Mullins to end the fourth and erased back-to-back walks in the fifth with a double play. Ashby settled in after that, giving the Brewers 3 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four.

After Ashby’s outing was over, Jandel Gustave and Hoby Milner combined to work a scoreless eighth inning.

Unfortunately, an overall solid performance on the mound was not enough for the Brewers offense. They failed to score against Bruce Zimmermann, Mike Baumann, Dillon Tate, Cionel Pérez, and Jorge López. The Brewers managed just six hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

The Crew’s best chance to score came in the third inning. With two outs, Andrew McCutchen doubled and Willy Adames and Christian Yelich both walked to load the bases. Hunter Renfroe swung at both pitches he saw and grounded out to third to end the threat.

In the ninth, a one-out walk by Kolten Wong brought the tying run to the plate, but Jace Peterson and Victor Caratini both grounded out to end the game.

The second game of the series is tomorrow evening. Eric Lauer will make his first start of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT, making it Milwaukee’s first night game of the season.