The Milwaukee Brewers are practically an assembly line at this point. It was their knack for team-wide rallies that spurred a victory in the series opener against Arizona, a 7-5 win with contributions from nearly the entire lineup.
The third inning gave the Brewers a massive lead as they piled on five runs against Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodríguez. Milwaukee couldn’t get the ball out of the infield in the first two innings (five groundouts and a strikeout), but exploded in the third frame, knocking Rodríguez from the game before he could even record the inning’s second out.
It started with a leadoff double from Isaac Collins. It was a hard-hit line drive, but it was mostly due to Lourdes Gurriel’s poor jump that it resulted in a hit. Blake Perkins followed with a single to get runners on the corners.
Andruw Monasterio pushed across the game’s first run when he hit a flare into the shallow outfield. A cutter was running inside, but he got his barrel out early to pull the ball to left field. The bottom of the order had already created a dangerous situation for Arizona, and the Brewers’ bats weren’t going to let up anytime soon.
Brice Turang was next, dipping his bat below the zone to catch a curveball. The pitch, although easily a ball, didn’t have much bite, giving Turang an easy opportunity to make simple contact and the Brewers a 2-0 lead. William Contreras singled to load the bases, and Christian Yelich singled to bring in another pair.
Before leaving the game, Rodríguez walked Andrew Vaughn to load the bases and give up another run on a groundout from Sal Frelick. It was 5-0, and Milwaukee had already cornered the Diamondbacks until they were forced to call to the bullpen.
Milwaukee added to the lead the following inning when Monasterio connected on a slider for a solo home run. Although he isn’t known for his power, his swing sent the ball 404 feet, an exclamation point on his offensive performance. Monasterio is now slashing .394/.412/.697 over his last 33 at-bats.
While the bats were lighting up the scoreboard, Brandon Woodruff was shutting down the Arizona offense. His final stat line is unsightly, but it was, for the majority of the night, a wipeout performance. Woodruff went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on five hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.
The first inning provided a slight road bump as Woodruff allowed two baserunners, including a miscommunication between Collins and Monasterio on what should have been a routine flyout, but Woodruff bounced back with an infield pop-up and a strikeout to end the inning. From that point on, Woodruff didn’t allow another baserunner until the sixth inning. The Diamondbacks couldn’t gauge Woodruff’s stuff for much of the game as he racked up 21 swing-and-misses, with his cutter and sinker especially effective.
But despite a clean sheet through five innings, when Woodruff returned for the sixth, things went awry quickly. A leadoff single to Alek Thomas and a hit by pitch to Geraldo Perdomo instantly put Woodruff under pressure. Back-to-back singles from Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll pulled the scoreline to 6-2, but the biggest blow was still to come.
Gurriel stepped to the plate with no outs and took a swing at the first pitch, a sinker that didn’t cut inside. The three-run shot left the Brewers with a razor-thin 6-5 margin, a wild turn after the Brewers dominated so much of the first half of the game.
The Brewers needed some insurance, and they found it in the bottom of the eighth inning. Outside of that key rally in the third inning, the Brewers didn’t get runners into scoring position. It was only through Caleb Durbin’s solo home run to lead off the eighth inning that the Brewers could regain any room for error. It marked the second game in a row for Durbin with a home run, his ninth on the season.
In relief, Aaron Ashby was as impressive as any performer for Milwaukee tonight. His stuff was crisp and deceptive, striking out all five batters that he retired. His 1 2/3 innings with one hit and one walk were the bridge for the Brewers to settle into the late innings despite Arizona nearly equalizing in the sixth.
Abner Uribe came out for the save after Trevor Megill struggled in two appearances over the weekend, working a three-up, three-down inning. On just 11 pitches, he finished off the Diamondbacks. He also made a highlight defensive play on the last play of the game. Thomas chopped a groundball over the mound as Uribe made a ranging play and an impressive underhand flip to record the out, and more importantly, his third save on the season. Uribe hasn’t allowed a run in his last 17 appearances.
Milwaukee’s chance to build another win streak starts tomorrow with Jacob Misiorowski slated to start against Brandon Pfaadt. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT.
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