Brewers top Twins 6-3 in rain-soaked contest

Box Score

Andrew McCutchen and Willy Adames homered, and the pitching took it from there as the Brewers defeated the Twins 6-3 in a game that was thrice interrupted by rain.

The Brewers jumped out to an early lead on McCutchen’s first-inning blast. The veteran went right with a fastball on the outside corner from starter Josh Winder, smoking a line drive that barely reached the overlook in right field.

The Twins got one of those runs back against Jason Alexander in the bottom of the second on a solo shot by Jorge Polanco, making it a 2-1 game.

Shortly after the home run, rain began to fall at Target Field. With two outs and Gio Urshela at the plate, the shower quickly intensified into a downpour. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli approached home plate umpire Mark Carlson about the playing conditions. The crew called for the tarp, and the game entered a delay.

Play resumed after a half-hour delay, and Jason Alexander finished the inning by getting Urshela to ground out.

Minnesota tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Alexander walked Jorge Polanco and allowed a single to Alex Kirilloff. That brought up Nick Gordon, who plated Polanco with a base hit to right.

Just one pitch later, the skies opened again and prompted another delay. Once again, it happened during the middle of an Urshela at-bat.

In an odd scene, the grounds crew rolled out the tarp, but the head groundskeeper stopped them before they could place it over the infield. After a few minutes of discussion, he determined that the rain would pass in a few minutes and instructed the crew to roll the tarp back up.

Play resumed in less than 10 minutes, and Alexander again retired Urshela for the final out of the inning.

The added up-downs from the two delays cut Alexander’s outing short at just four innings and 73 pitches. He allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Jace Peterson walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth, and Jonathan Davis followed with a one-out single. With two outs, Willy Adames put the Brewers on top for good with a three-run home run to left. The no-doubter was his 18th of the year, which leads the team.

After Jandel Gustave worked around a walk for a scoreless fifth inning, yet another rain delay halted the game. This proved to be a lengthier interruption, as play did not resume for good until an hour later.

When the Brewers retook the field, they added an insurance run on a base hit by Jace Peterson to make it a 6-2 game.

The following two innings were rather eventful for the Milwaukee pitching staff. In the sixth, Hoby Milner loaded the bases after recording two quick outs, but he escaped unscathed. Brad Boxberger allowed a run on a pair of hits in the seventh to make it 6-3.

Devin Williams and Josh Hader combined to retire the final six Twins hitters to seal the win. Williams extended his scoreless streak to 24 games, and Hader rebounded from a few shaky outings to strike out the side in order in the ninth.

The Brewers will look to secure a two-game sweep of their interleague rivals tomorrow afternoon behind Aaron Ashby. The left-hander has struggled since transitioning to a full-time starter, and he’ll have his work cut out for him against a solid Minnesota lineup.

The Twins will send right-hander Joe Ryan to the hill. In 13 starts this season, he has compiled a solid 3.09 ERA and 3.87 FIP.

First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CDT.