Brewers rally not enough as they lose to Angels, 3-2

Box Score

The Brewers played a close game against the Angels this afternoon. They fell behind early 2-0 but managed to rally to tie the game at 2-2 after seven innings. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get ahead, and the Angels took the lead back, winning 3-2.

Eric Lauer looked a bit better on Thursday, but still had his share of struggles. In the first inning, the Angels put together a run from a walk, single, fielding error, and groundout. Lauer was pulled after five batters but came back out for the second inning. He allowed another run in the third on back-to-back doubles. He ended up pitching 3 ¹⁄₃ innings in total, allowing two runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts.

After the bullpen came in and held the Angels in check, the Brewers began to rally. Luke Voit hit his second home run of the spring in the fifth inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1. In the seventh, Josh VanMeter walked and was replaced by Eric Brown Jr. Blake Perkins drove in Brown Jr. and tied the game at 2-2.

Unfortunately, the Brewers couldn’t get any more offense from there. The Angels took advantage against Jake Cousins in the eighth inning. Chad Wallach singled to lead off the inning, then Livan Soto moved Wallach to third with a single. Andrew Velazquez brought Wallach in with a sacrifice fly, and the Angels reclaimed the lead at 3-2. The Brewers only managed one more walk on offense from there.

In total for the game, the offense managed a total of four hits and four walks. Josh VanMeter was the only Brewer to reach base twice, posting a hit and a walk in his start. The bullpen had a good game, with five different pitchers each recording a scoreless appearance, and the pitching staff combined for twelve strikeouts.

The Brewers are back on the road tomorrow to face the Rangers. Janson Junk will face Nathan Eovaldi to start the afternoon game. First pitch is at 3:05 PM.