DENVER ‒ On the evening of June 5, the Milwaukee Brewers played their wildest game of the year.
It was buzzed baseball. It was disorderly. Chaotic. Unpredictable. Whiplash-inducing.
In other words, it was a standard Coors Field affair.
After threatening to make the wrong kind of history through eight innings, a rambunctious rally and ensuing blown save in the ninth, another barrage of offense in the top of the 10th and a heart-palpitating bottom of the frame that threatened to deliver one of the worst losses in recent memory, the Brewers walked out battered and perhaps bewildered but not beaten in a 9-7, 10-inning win over the Colorado Rockies.
Jake Bauers, who had the team’s lone hit through eight frames, smacked a two-run double in the bottom of the 10th and ensuing RBI hits by Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick provided the eventual difference-making runs.
Aaron Ashby struggled with his control trying to protect a four-run lead but recovered to get a double play and strikeout to end the three hour, 18 minute affair.
Disaster from Trevor Megill, Jake Bauers in bottom of ninth
A miscommunication by first baseman Jake Bauers and closer Trevor Megill cracked the door for the Rockies to mount a rally in the ninth.
A bases-loaded walk to a .050 hitter opened it all the way.
On a Sterlin Thompson dribbler to the right side to open the inning, Bauers initially broke toward the ball before realizing it was hit directly to Brice Turang. Bauers still had time to book it back to the base before Thompson would have arrived, but out of the corner of his eye saw Megill moving to cover and froze.
BOX SCORE: Brewers 9, Rockies 7 (10 innings)
So did Megill.
That left first base unoccupied, allowing Thompson to reach and set off a game-tying rally.
Following two singles, the Rockies had Chad Stevens, who is 1 for 20 this year, up. Megill walked him despite being ahead in the count to cut the lead to 5-4.
A Hunter Goodman sacrifice fly knotted things up moments later.
Brewers get off the mat to take the lead
It began innocuously with a Turang opposite-field cue shot single, and never shifted from that theme.
William Contreras followed with a weak one-hopper back to the mound for what should have been an easy double play, but relief pitcher Antonio Senzatela yanked the ball into center. Jake Bauers followed with a liner that found outfield grass to make it 3-2, and the Brewers-esque rally was on.
Following a Garrett Mitchell strikeout, Sal Frelick drove a 1-0 cutter on two bounds past a diving Edouard Julien at second, then motored into second with a game-tying hustle double.
Andrew Vaughn came off the bench and did what he needed with two strikes, tickling a ball weakly through the drawn-in infield for a go-ahead, two-run single.
Of the five batters to reach in the inning, four did so via a grounder.
Brian Fitzpatrick walks off the mound in pain
One day after a pair of pitchers left the game with injury, bad luck struck the Brewers again.
This one looked serious.
Rookie reliever Brian Fitzpatrick injured himself while warming up for the bottom of the seventh and walked off the mound in clear pain as athletic trainer Lee Meyer helped hold his left arm, which was shaking in the aftermath of the injury.
Fitzpatrick was called up to replace left-hander DL Hall, who went on the 15-day injured list with a left pectoral injury earlier in the day.
Rockies punishing Brandon Sproat’s mistakes
Sproat made three mistakes a big-league pitcher simply can’t make with two strikes between the second and third. The Rockies made him pay all three times.
First, Ezequiel Tovar pounded a middle-middle curveball to center for a one-out double in the second and came around to score when Sproat left an 0-2 fastball down the heart to Edouard Julien, who laced it to left.
In the third, Hunter Goodman got all of a hanging curve in a full count for his 16th home run of the year to make it 3-1.
Brewers miss opportunity for big second inning against Ryan Feltner
When Jake Bauers whistled a leadoff double on a 2-2 pitch from Ryan Feltner to lead off the second, it began a trend. Each of the next four Brewers would join Bauers in seeing at least six pitches in their plate appearance.
This put Feltner on the ropes when he was at 32 pitches with two outs and two on and a runner already in. With Christian Yelich up, the Brewers had a real chance to chase the Rockies starter from the game, but instead Yelich struck out after swinging through a slider and changeup down the middle.
Feltner threw 37 pitches in the second alone and 36 total through the rest of his first five innings, with the Bauers double the only hit allowed.
Feltner threw seven pitches in the first, 10 in the third, 13 in the fourth, six in the fifth and nine in the sixth, taking advantage of a poor quality of at-bat by the Brewers.
Feltner completed his outing at six innings and retired the final 13 Brewers batters he faced to lower his career ERA against Milwaukee to 2.67, a far cry from his career 5.17 mark.
Rockies jump in front in first
Jake McCarthy took advantage of what was in front of him to score the first run of the game.
First, a four-seam fastball Sproat left down to get a base hit. Then, the massive gaps in the Coors outfield to leg out a double. McCarthy immediately stole third when Sproat wasn’t paying him attention and scored thereafter on a grounder to short.
What is the Brewers record?
38-23.
Brewers lineup
TBA
Rockies lineup
TBA
Brewers probable pitchers and schedule
Brewers vs Rockies, June 6, 8:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (6-2, 1.65) vs. Colorado RHP Tanner Gordon (0-1, 6.37). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs Rockies, June 7, 2:10 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP Shane Drohan (2-1, 2.87) vs. Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland (1-6, 8.06). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 9, Rockies 7 (10): Craziest game of the year goes Milwaukee’s way
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
