The Milwaukee Brewers certainly didn’t enter their Saturday, July 18 matinee with the Miami Marlins on an up note.
Earlier in the day Sal Frelick had been placed on the injured list with a right shoulder strain, a little after that Brandon Woodruff announced he needs season-ending shoulder surgery and then shortly before gametime Brice Turang was scratched from the lineup with a sore foot.
They then fell behind by three runs early, only to come roaring back and eventually notch an 8-6 victory at American Family Field that gave the Brewers not only their first series triumph of the unofficial second half but also got them to within one game of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the major leagues.
Impressive stuff for a group that just keeps on keepin’ on despite everything.
“Next man up,” said closer Trevor Megill, who closed the game out in the ninth after Miami cut a five-run deficit to two with nobody out against Craig Yoho. “It’s been the same thing since I’ve been here. Somebody goes down, somebody picks that person up.
“That’s just the mentality here.”
Shane Drohan turned in his third consecutive quality start while striking out a career-high nine and Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich each had two-run hits bridging the sixth and seventh innings as Milwaukee scored six unanswered runs after starter Max Meyer departed to wrest back control of the game from Miami.
The Brewers also tied a season high with seven stolen bases in earning their 21st series triumph despite finishing 5 for 21 with runners in scoring position.
“It was tough going,” said manager Pat Murphy. “Got the pitch count up (on Meyer) and got him out of there. Little by little, stole a bunch of bases and put pressure on them. Wasn’t pretty. We had a lot of opportunities and didn’t cash in.”
BOX SCORE: Brewers 8, Marlins 6
A frustrating second inning
Chourio was unable to come up with a Javier Sanoja fly ball to left-center to start the second, leaving Sanoja with a hustle double.
A swinging bunt by Liam Hicks, single by Leo Jiménez and a bunt single by Esteury Ruiz (yes, the guy the Brewers had briefly and then traded for Contreras, among others) followed.
Two batters later Mitchell made a leaping grab at the wall to rob Otto Lopez of potential extra bases, but the drive was nevertheless a sacrifice fly and just like that Miami had a 3-0 lead.
Milwaukee did get one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame when Mitchell singled, advanced to second on a Lara walk and then tagged and scored on a pair of fly balls by Cooper Pratt and Braden Shewmake, Turang’s replacement at second base for the day and maybe the next few based on Turang’s condition.
“X-rays were negative but he’s still limping around pretty good,” said Murphy. “Sal’s down, him down, that’s a lot to absorb if you’re trying to maintain the level we’re trying to maintain.”
Chipping away in the third
Chourio drew a leadoff walk from Meyer in the third, stole second and then scored on a William Contreras double to draw the Brewers to within 3-2.
Mitchell followed by beating out an infield single but was stranded after stealing second after a pair of strikeouts by Luis Lara and Pratt.
Perhaps the best news was that Meyer was lifted from the game after that third inning having thrown 74 pitches, although Miami’s bullpen pitched well in his stead.
Milwaukee grabs its first lead
Drohan (5-3) capped a tremendous bounce-back effort by retiring the final nine batters he faced and 12 of the final 13 after the Marlins took their 3-0 lead in the second.
“I felt like I settled in pretty well after that second inning,” Drohan said. “Just saving the ‘pen and just setting us up for hopefully getting the sweep. Kind of just feels like that’s been the theme of my outings – there’s always one inning where it doesn’t fall apart, but you give up some runs.
“It’s frustrating because of all the work we put in to prepare, and it’s something I need to button up.”
He struck out six of his career-high nine from the fourth through the sixth and exited having allowed five hits and a walk over 90 pitches.
“He’s just a great competitor,” Murphy said. “He cares. He’s a good teammate. Guys love him. The guy’s just a man. They trust him. They love how he goes about his work. Pretty special.
“We said this in spring training. ‘Who is this kid? He’s never pitched in the big leagues?’ How he’s handled himself (has been impressive.”
The offense then went to work against Calvin Faucher in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases on a Shewmake double and then consecutive walks by Joey Ortiz and Yelich before Chourio stroked a two-run single to center to put Milwaukee in front for the first time, 4-3.
Three batters later Mitchell lined a two-out, two-run double to left-center, upping the advantage to 6-3.
Applying the finishing touches
Pratt singled to start the Brewers’ seventh, then Shewmake reached on an infield single and then an error by first baseman Kyle Stowers.
Two batters later, Yelich went the other way to lace a two-run double down the left-field line and Milwaukee’s lead had grown to 8-3.
Things got a little too close for comfort in the ninth when Yoho plunked the first batter he faced in the frame with a two-strike pitch, walked the second and then surrendered a three-run home run to Griffin Conine that narrowed a five-run lead to two.
“You know Yoho is down tomorrow regardless, right?” Murphy said the day after Yoho had recorded his first major-league win. “One inning today, eight pitches. And he’s going tood. So, why use another guy? We want to preserve as many bodies as we can. So we ask him, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ He goes, ‘I’m fine.’
“Eight pitches, goes back out. Two-strike hit by pitch, four-pitch walk, can’t find the zone. Homer. All of a sudden, it looks bad when it turns out that way.”
Megill entered and wasted no time locking down his 15th save, retiring all three batters he faced.
What is the Brewers’ record?
61-37, first place in the NL Central.
Brewers probable pitchers and schedule
Brewers vs. Marlins, July 19, 1:10 p.m.: Brewers LHP Robert Gasser (2-4, 5.24) vs. Miami RHP Eury Pérez (5-7, 3.78). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Mets, July 20, 6:40 p.m.: Brewers RHP Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.16) vs. New York TBA. TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Mets, July 21, 6:40 p.m.: Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62) vs. New York TBA. TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Mets, July 22, 1:10 p.m.: Brewers RHP Logan Henderson (3-1, 2.97) vs. New York TBA. TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Off day, July 23.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 8, Marlins 6: Milwaukee shakes off worries, wins another series
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
