Brewers surge late for the second straight day, defeat Yankees 9-2

Box Score

For the second straight day, the Brewers played a close game that turned into a 2-2 game for several innings. Also, for the second straight day, the Brewers offense came alive in the late innings and turned a close game into a rout. This time, they won the game 9-2.

The game started with a 2 ¹⁄₂ hour rain delay, as well as a Christian Yelich scratch. Yelich was in the original lineup for the day but was scratched before first pitch with back tightness. After the game, Counsell called it a precautionary move and Yelich is day-to-day for now. Meanwhile, both starting pitchers had warmed up before the game officially delayed, and then came back out after the delay.

That likely contributed to a shorter-than-expected start for Wade Miley. He pitched just 3 ²⁄₃ innings and allowed two runs, with only one of them earned. Those came in the fourth inning, when Miley allowed two walks and a single. He also had a batter reach on an error by Andruw Monasterio and another reach on a fielder’s choice. It was a situation that Willy Adames might have misjudged, where he went to second for a force out to end the inning but went with a soft throw, and Everson Pereira beat it to second. That allowed Giancarlo Stanton to score for the 2-2 tie. It also ended Miley’s day at 84 pitches. He had a good day overall, with just one hit and three walks allowed while striking out three.

Once again, though, the Brewers bullpen was in lockdown mode. Needing to cover 5 ¹⁄₃ innings, they did it scoreless once again. The only trouble the bullpen faced was in the ninth, when Hoby Milner allowed back-to-back singles. In total, they allowed just three hits and a walk, while striking out six.

Michael King of the Yankees also kept the Brewers in check. He went five innings and struck out nine. Similar to Miley, he only allowed two runs, and those both came in the fourth. Mark Canha hit a one-out single and then Willy Adames tripled but ended up scoring on a throwing error from DJ LeMahieu. It allowed Adames to complete the trip around the bases for the 2-2 tie. It was a pretty good day overall for Adames, who also got to meet his childhood idol, Derek Jeter, before the game.

The Brewers couldn’t break through again until the eighth inning, after the Yankees bullpen had a couple of strong innings. Greg Weissert rebounded from his three-run allowed appearance yesterday to pitch a scoreless inning today. Wandy Peralta also added a scoreless inning. Then came Jonathan Loáisiga, and the Brewers were able to get to him for the second straight day. It started quick with Tyrone Taylor hitting a leadoff home run to put the Brewers ahead 3-2. From there, four straight singles from Sal Frelick, William Contreras, Carlos Santana, and Mark Canha added another run and loaded the bases. Adames grounded out and the Yankees got Contreras at home, and then Victor Caratini came in to pinch hit. While he didn’t hit one out of the park, he hit it deep enough to score Carlos Santana and give the Brewers a 5-2 lead.

From there, the Brewers added on against Matt Krook in the ninth. Turang walked and Taylor singled to start the inning, and then both moved up on a double steal. Frelick walked to load the bases, and Contreras singled to bring two of them in. That ended Krook’s day without recording an out. After Santana flew out, Canha re-loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch from Ron Marinaccio with one out. Adames popped out for the second out, but the Brewers tacked on two more runs with back-to-back walks by Caratini and Monasterio. That accounted for the final runs in the 9-2 win.

Though not every starter recorded a hit today, seven of them did while eight starters reached base at least once. Frelick, Contreras, Canha, and Taylor each had two-hit days. Frelick and Monasterio also added on two-walk days. Overall, Frelick was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, easily leading the offense for the day. This was after Frelick was moved to the leadoff spot following Yelich’s scratch from the lineup.

The Brewers magic number decreased by two again today thanks to another loss from the Cubs earlier in the afternoon. They lost to the Diamondbacks 3-2 in extra innings, and the Brewers now have a four-game division lead. The Reds also lost, increasing the Brewers lead to 7 ¹⁄₂ games over them. The magic number for the division is down to 17. The Brewers also gained some ground towards a playoff spot clinch as the Marlins lost to the Phillies today.

The Brewers will go for their 12th-straight interleague win and a series sweep tomorrow afternoon in New York. It will be a matchup of aces as Corbin Burnes faces Gerrit Cole. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.