Hall and Priester combine to pitch full game 8-3 win over Nationals

Box Score

The Brewers pushed their winning streak to five with another complete team performance, requiring just two pitchers to seal an 8-3 win on Friday night. While nearly the entire starting lineup contributed, Yelich’s two-run blast was the climactic moment of a six-run inning in the third.

DL Hall was tagged as the opener for the Brewers. He went three innings, but it was a strenuous outing at times. His control was hit-or-miss throughout the night, especially with his secondaries.

The first inning was emblematic of the struggle. He gave up a leadoff single to CJ Abrams and walked the next batter, James Wood, but he found his footing by forcing a fly out and striking out the final two batters of the inning.

He worked a clean second inning, but once again found himself in trouble in the third. A leadoff walk set the stage for Abrams to make his mark once again, hitting a triple to deep right field on a sinker in the middle of the strike zone. With Abrams on third, the 1-0 deficit looked like it could lead to a much more dangerous outcome, but once again Hall managed his way through a difficult situation.

First, it was a line drive to Joey Ortiz, who was playing near the infield grass. He had to make a jumping play to record the out. He was the defender on the next play, a grounder that meant a play at home since Abrams was running on contact. Ortiz’s throw was quick and accurate, catching the runner at home to clear the bases and secure the second out.

That would be all for Hall on the night, but given the difficulties he fell into with runners on base, he did a remarkable job escaping those jams. He gave up that one run across three innings, striking out two and walking two on two hits.

For the Nationals, Mitchell Parker struggled with his command for much of his outing. He tried attacking the top of the zone with his fastball, but the Brewers managed to jump on pitches even outside the zone, along with making Parker pay for any mistakes.

Once the Nationals found a 1-0 lead in the third, the Brewers rebounded in the bottom of the frame with a six-run frame.

The outburst started with Caleb Durbin doubling on a high fastball that could have been caught by right fielder Daylen Lile. But as he approached the wall, Lile slowed down a step, and the ball bounced off the tip of his glove.

Joey Ortiz was up next and fought through an eight-pitch at-bat to drop a blooping single into shallow center field. The uncertainty of the hit meant Durbin couldn’t score, but he was able to move to third.

Up next, tying the game, Sal Frelick pounced another high fastball from Parker. It wasn’t in the zone, yet Frelick reached across to slap an opposite field single to score Durbin.

With a 1-1 score, William Contreras found some revenge for a hard-hit ball earlier in the game that went right to a defender. He hit another rocket off Parker, this time just outside the defender’s reach as he drove the ball into right field for a two-run double.

Jackson Chourio jumped on another mistake from Parker, a looping curveball that hung above the zone for a 4-1 lead.

The Brewers had already made a dent in Parker’s scoreline, but Christian Yelich came through with the biggest hit yet. Parker hung a slider over the middle of the zone and Yelich was ready to take it deep. A 405-foot home run, Yelich gave the Brewers a 6-1 lead with his 19th knock of the year. The Brewers recorded six hard-hit balls against Parker in those first three innings.

With a solid lead in hand, Quinn Priester entered the game in the fourth inning a bulk relief role. He was sharp from the start, striking out the first two batters he faced.

The Brewers once again pounced on Parker’s ineffective locations in the bottom of the fourth. After Frelick reached on a two-out walk, Contreras hit another screaming line drive on a curveball left in the zone. Frelick scored from first without a throw. As Contreras settled on the second base bag with his RBI double, the Brewers had already built a 7-1 lead.

In the fifth inning, the defense made its impact when Ortiz made a spectacular play. A line drive from Line looked destined for the outfield, but a full-out diving catch gave Ortiz was one of the highlights of the night.

Riley Adams caught a slider and pulled it down the right field, a ball that was fair by mere inches, to give the Nationals a chance to chip away at that massive lead, but Priester nullified their offense with a pair of groundouts.

Despite already allowing seven runs, Parker returned for the bottom of the fifth since his pitch count was still in the 60s. But Yelich led off with a walk to immediately put more pressure on the Nationals. Parker would eventually record two outs and issue another walk, this time to Isaac Collins, before Washington decided to pull him from the game.

Cole Henry entered in relief and hit Durbin with a pitch, loading the bases with two outs. That brought up Ortiz with the chance to establish an even more daunting lead, but he hit a weak pop up to end the inning.

Priester fell behind batters into three-ball counts a few times in this game, including the first batter he faced in the sixth inning, Josh Bell. As Priester worked his way back into the count, Bell connected for a ground-rule double. A soft ground ball out to Contreras prevented Bell from advancing, and another grounder resulted in a backhand play from Ortiz to retire the second out.

It was a solid display from the defense, but Priester walked another batter and gave up a double up the middle from rookie Brady House to give the Nationals their second run of the game. The score stood at 7-2 with multiple runners in scoring position, but Priester momentarily limited the damage.

The Nationals would continue working away at that lead when Adams led off the seventh inning with a solo home run. It was a slider bordering the bottom of the zone, but Adams reached down to take the ball deep over the left field fence. That Nationals had sudden life, down 7-3 with a few frames to go.

It was another momentary setback, but Priester settled the crowd’s nerves by retiring the next three batters, including a nasty strikeout against Wood on a slider that cut low below the zone. He’d go on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, as well.

Andrew Vaughn has been nothing short of spectacular since joining the Brewers, and he continued his exploits with a home run in the bottom of the seventh. Facing reliever Luis Garcia, Vaughn jumped on a first pitch fastball for his second home run since joining the team. It was a pitch that likely could have been called a ball if he didn’t swing, a pitch low and inside, yet Vaughn ripped it for a moonshot. It was 413-feet, another highlight reel moment in his short Brewers tenure.

The Brewers continued to pile on to the stat sheet when Caleb Durbin led off the eight with a single, his second hit of the night. It’s part of an impressive run now for Durbin, who is slashing .378/.453/.489 over his last 15 games. Part of what makes that stretch so notable is that he has walked as many times as he has struck out at five a piece.

Priester stuck in for the ninth inning with his pitch count still in the 70s. He recorded the first out with some help with Sal Frelick, who made a ranging play at full speed into the gap.

Then, Priester retired Adams on a three-pitch strikeout, and attacked the final batter, Abrams, with a first pitch curveball in the zone. Abrams then hit a lazy pop up to third base to end the game. Priester’s final line, despite any bumps along the way, was evidence of another quality outing. He went six innings, surrendering just two runs on four hits, walking two, and striking out five.

It was a complete team performance: there was defense, offensive highlights, and merely two pitchers required to complete the job. Five different hitters recorded an RBI in the 8-3 win.

Milwaukee continues their series against the Nationals tomorrow with Brandon Woodruff expected to make his first much-anticipated home start since his return from injury. First pitch for that game is set for 3:10 p.m.