Brewers 13, D-backs 2: Offense erupts with a game of small ball

The Brewers’ offense is still weathering the storm as they wait for some of their top batters to return from the injured list. On Tuesday night, they didn’t need their power hitters, as a barrage of singles and walks gave them a decisive 13-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Chad Patrick started the game for the Brewers with a scoreless first inning, working around a leadoff walk as he struck out two. Meanwhile, the Brewers put the pressure on Merrill Kelly right away. Garrett Mitchell led off for the Brewers with a leadoff walk. He tried to get the Brewers into scoring position right away but was caught stealing second for the first out. That ended up being a big out after William Contreras drew a walk and Brice Turang singled. Tyler Black moved them both up with a groundout, then Kelly walked Jake Bauers. The strategy worked as Kelly struck out Brandon Lockridge to end the inning.

At the start of the second inning, there was a scary moment for Patrick. He was having trouble seeing and needed assistance on the field. He remained in the game and retired the side in order, partially thanks to a double play that erased a leadoff walk. After the game, Patrick talked about how he couldn’t see for 15-20 seconds and what he was feeling.

Back on offense, the Brewers gave Patrick some run support. The first run came from Sal Frelick, who hit a leadoff home run into the Diamondbacks’ bullpen for a 1-0 lead. It was the Brewers’ first home run since April 18 against Miami, and just their second home run in the last 14 days.

Both starters traded scoreless third innings, and Patrick added a scoreless fourth as well. As for the Brewers, they added on in the fourth. Back-to-back walks from Lockridge and Frelick gave the Brewers two baserunners, and David Hamilton moved them up on a groundout. Joey Ortiz brought them in with a single into shallow center field, scoring both. Ortiz would end up getting caught stealing second — catcher James McCann’s second caught stealing of the night —but the Brewers increased their lead to 3-0.

Patrick entered the fifth inning with a modest no-hit bid going, but he struggled hard in the inning. He walked the first three batters he saw that inning. The Diamondbacks were threatening as Alek Thomas hit a hard line drive between first and second, but Turang was positioned in the right spot and made a jump to rob Thomas of a hit.

It ended up only delaying the Diamondbacks by a batter, though. The next batter, McCann, hit a ground ball between second and third and into left field. That scored two runs and closed the gap to 3-2. A sacrifice bunt from Ildemaro Vargas moved runners up to second and third, but Patrick got a ground ball from Ketel Marte to escape the inning.

Patrick finished his night with five innings pitched and two runs allowed. He allowed just the one hit, but it was a two-run RBI single that momentarily got the Diamondbacks back in the game. While he did strike out five batters, he also walked five. Of his 98 pitches, he threw 60 for strikes.

That stumble in the fifth wouldn’t deter the Brewers offense. Contreras and Turang hit a single and double, respectively, to put runners in scoring position again. This time, they would not be stranded as Black singled to center, scoring them both and giving the Brewers their three-run lead back.

The Brewers were not done. In the sixth, the Diamondbacks went into their bullpen and brought in Andrew Hoffman. The Brewers pecked away at him. Here’s a rundown of what the Brewers did against Hoffman:

Hoffman threw 38 pitches and only recorded one out in his appearance. After Hamilton’s ground-rule double — which likely would have cleared the bases if it stayed in play — the Diamondbacks brought in Ryan Thompson to finish the inning. He quieted the Brewers’ bats with a strikeout of Ortiz and pop out from Mitchell to end the inning.

From there, the Brewers brought in the reserves and filed this one away quietly. After a clean sixth for Shane Drohan, Jake Woodford recorded a three-inning save to finish out the game. Drohan had a strikeout, while Woodford allowed just two hits and struck out two.

The Brewers recorded 15 hits as a team, their second-most in the season. With their six walks, their 21 baserunners is also their second-most as a team this season. Black led the offense with a three-hit day. Contreras, Turang, Frelick, Hamilton, and Ortiz all had two-hit days. Lockridge was the only starter that did not record a hit, but still reached base with a walk. As a team, the Brewers went 8-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Of their 15 hits, just three went for extra bases: Frelick’s home run and doubles from Turang and Hamilton.

Following that burst of offense, game two of the series will take place tomorrow evening. Brandon Sproat gets the start against Eduardo Rodriguez of the Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m.