Brewers dominate Twins in 9-0 victory

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Twins en route to a 9-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon. The win secured a series victory as the Brewers outhit Minnesota 11-4, another total offensive performance.

Sal Frelick led off the game for Milwaukee with an opposite-field single by reaching on a pitch far outside the zone. That contact ability, on an awkward pitch, is part of what makes him so effective in the leadoff spot. Frelick moved up to the leadoff spot on June 12 and has hit 13-for-35 since making the move.

Christian Yelich followed with a hot liner up the middle in a full count, pushing Frelick to third. Yelich made an attempt to steal second base, but Ryan Jeffers’ errant throw gave everyone a free base. Frelick crossed home for the team’s first run with Yelich going to third.

William Contreras was at the plate and walked on the next pitch, getting runners on the corners once again, already forcing the Twins to make a mound visit. Brice Turang sent a ball deep for a sac fly, increasing the Brewers’ early advantage to 2-0.

When the Brewers took the field, starter Jose Quintana surrendered a leadoff walk to Byron Buxton. On a groundball close to the line, Caleb Durbin was able to retire Buxton at second, a close play given Buxton’s speed, but the risk paid off.

With two outs a few batters later, Quintana walked Carlos Correa on four pitches. A deep fly ball to the fifth batter of the inning was finally enough for the third out, but it was evidence of Quintana’s strategy. He’s okay working these deep counts and long innings, so long as he avoids any dangerous pitches hanging in the middle of the zone.

The second frame provided another opportunity for Milwaukee. Isaac Collins led off with an opposite-field single, with his hit slipping by the third baseman who was creeping up toward the infield grass. Caleb Durbin then walked on four straight pitches with a patient approach against Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson, who hadn’t yet locked in his command.

Durbin made another great play on the basepaths when Joey Ortiz hit a groundball to third baseman Jonah Bride. Ortiz’s hit was a high chopper, delaying Bride’s play. Despite the situation, Bride still attempted to throw Durbin out at second, but Durbin slid in headfirst safely. Not only did he advance, but his disruptive slide stopped the Twins from making any play at first. Just like that, the Brewers loaded the bases without any outs.

Their first out came when Frelick took a fastball down the middle in an 0-2 count. Jackson Chourio then sliced a ball to deep right field, where defender Willi Castro took an awkward route, but he was able to recover, limiting Chourio to a sac fly. It was nearly a disaster for Minnesota, but the Brewers would be content with another run.

Yelich tacked on another run when a half-swing dribbled weakly down the left side. It was an impossible play for the defense as Milwaukee raced ahead to a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Quintana gave up a hard hit single to Harrison Bader and a walk to Bride, but once again navigated his way out of a lengthy inning. Buxton was at the plate, one of the Twins’ hottest hitters, yet Quintana got him to chase a pitch well outside the zone. The result was an easy fly to center field, once again unscathed.

The leadoff runner reached against Quintana to start the third, but it was the defense that helped him erase the threat this time. Castro struck a hard ball up the middle, but Ortiz made a ranging play first to field the ball, then a backhand flip to get the lead runner at second. In another full count, Quintana induced a 5-4-3 double play. Quintana doesn’t blow away hitters, so a strong defensive performance behind him is always acutely relevant to his success.

After the Brewers’ explosive start in the first two innings, the scoring would slow down with only a few opportunities interspersed for each team. For example, in the fifth, Turang shot a ball far down the left field line, but Bader made a racing catch near the wall to end the inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Matt Wallner reached for another leadoff runner against Quintana when an infield hit took an awkward bounce, but Milwaukee’s starter retired the next three batters.

While the Brewers’ offense taxed Woods Richardson for 52 pitches through the first two frames, he was efficient for the rest of his start, and needed just 43 pitches in the next four innings combined.

Quintana went back out to pitch in the sixth and continued to work with his defense to stifle the Twins. Durbin made a spinning play to retire the leadoff batter, Castro, on the first pitch of the inning. Quintana surrendered a double to Correa for Minnesota’s first extra-base hit, but with just one out, found a way to escape with another zero on the scoreboard. A chopped ground ball pushed Correa to third, but Ortiz retired the batter for the second out. On the next play, yet again, it was Ortiz making a defensive stop on a ball bouncing toward the gap up the middle to end the inning.

Quintana ended his afternoon with six shutout innings and allowed a mere three hits. While he walked four batters, the Twins’ offense was incapable of making a dent against Quintana for most of the game. The defense, of course, was exceptional behind their starter. This outing saw Quintana drop to an impressive 2.98 ERA through 10 starts this season.

Grant Anderson was the first to enter in relief and overpowered the Twins for a scoreless seventh inning. He went three up, three down, including a pair of strikeouts.

The Brewers found their stride late in the game with Turang leading off the top of the eighth with a ground-rule double against reliever Cole Sands. Turang advanced on a groundball before scoring on one of the wildest plays of the game.

Collins hit a sacrifice fly to left field, but Bader misjudged the flight of the ball as it skimmed over his glove. Instead of a simple sacrifice fly, Collins stormed his way to third base. Turang, of course, scored in the meantime, pushing the Brewers to five runs.

Durbin jumped on the first pitch of his at-bat to chop a ground ball up the middle, bringing in Collins for the run that secured the Brewers’ 6-0 lead.

The Brewers kept attacking Sands with back-to-back hits. Ortiz slapped an opposite-field single for a five-game hitting streak. Frelick followed with a double, continuing his own hot streak, and giving the Brewers a 7-0 lead. Milwaukee looked superior for much of the afternoon, but now the lead appeared insurmountable. Just as the offense overran the scoreboard last night, the Milwaukee offense was outclassing the Twins with nearly the entire lineup contributing to the onslaught.

With another rally in the ninth, this time with two outs, the Brewers added to that margin. Turang reached on a single to mark his multi-hit effort, and Rhys Hoskins doubled on a ball that seemed like the defender lost track in the sunlight. Collins doubled on a ball that reached the right field wall, bringing in another two runs as Milwaukee led 9-0. The Twins were forced to make yet another pitching change before they could finally escape the Brewers’ bats.

Aaron Ashby was responsible for finishing off the game. In the eighth, after a leadoff single from Buxton, Ashby forced a double play and another easy groundout. He then struck out a pair in another clean inning in the ninth. Behind a strong night from Milwaukee’s bullpen and defense, the Twins’ offense simply couldn’t find any rhythm.

After another decisive performance, here are a few final numbers to showcase some players and their recent run of form.

Yelich went 2-for-3 with a walk as he’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. Over his last 30 games, he’s slashing .325/.388/.547. And Collins continues to impress with a .360/.414/.760 slash line in his last seven games.

The Brewers will look for the sweep in tomorrow’s series finale against Minnesota. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.