Brewers fall short in extra-innings loss

The bullpen’s heroic effort couldn’t secure the win

Box Score

In a weekend full of excitement, Sunday’s early contest against the Reds was a chance for a four-game sweep. Instead, one of the Brewers’ sloppier games resulted in a 4-3, extra innings loss.

Tobias Myers’ outing was partly responsible for the loss, but it could have been much worse.

That’s not the most encouraging sentence, but this isn’t meant as a way to detract from Myers. He gutted out 5 ²⁄₃ innings of rough-and-tumble ball, allowing just three runs (two earned) with seven strikeouts.

His command simply wasn’t on point. He allowed eight hits and four walks, the most free passes he had given up in a start since early May. The Reds didn’t hit squibblers, either. They had eight hard-hit balls against Myers, all tracking as over 100-mph exit velocities.

The Reds scored in the second inning to establish an early lead. A leadoff home run from Jake Fraley and a sacrifice fly from Jonathan India left the Brewers facing a 2-0 deficit.

Anybody watching the Brewers knows that’s not much of a hurdle.

Milwaukee responded immediately with three consecutive hits from Joey Ortiz, Brice Turang, and Jackson Chourio. Blake Perkins continued his productive run with a sacrifice fly to scratch a run across.

In the next inning, the equalizer came on yet another Willy Adames home run to lead off the frame.

Yep. Four straight games with a home run from Willy Adames. Is that crazy? That seems crazy. It raised Adames’ season OPS to .808 and an even more ridiculous 1.010 over his last 15 games. His season has been a constant reassurance that he’s one of the most dominant power hitters at the position and he’s doing it with the best plate discipline of his career.

The Brewers secured their first lead of the game in the fifth inning as Ortiz and Turang both knocked their second hits of the night. For Ortiz, it was his 20th double of the season. For Turang, it was an RBI single through the infield.

After reaching first base, Turang followed with a stolen base to reach a season milestone. It was his 40th stolen bag on the season as he continues his rise as one of the premier runners in baseball. He was able to slide into second without an attempted tag as he easily advanced.

That temporary 3-2 lead didn’t last long. Myers’ start was coming to a finish, but more traffic ensured a tense ending. Two leadoff hits, including a double from Elly De La Cruz, put two runners in scoring position.

Myers was able to escape while allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly. A strikeout and another flyout managed to keep the game tied, which is partly why it doesn’t seem right to overly criticize this start. After two runners immediately reached scoring position and no outs, he wriggled his way out with minimal damage.

Unfortunately, at this point, Milwaukee’s offense stalled. They finished the game by going 22 plate appearances without managing any hits. That’s a concerning stat line against a sub-.500 team, but they were still getting the ball in play. Reds’ relievers Jakob Junis and Brent Suter, both former Brewers, pitched a combined 6 ²⁄₃ innings without allowing a run. In that time, the Brewers only struck out once.

It was a wasted opportunity as the Brewers’ own bullpen put together a near-perfect performance. Jared Koenig was called in for relief after Myers came out for the sixth inning and left runners on second and third base with two outs. Koenig worked out of the jam by forcing De La Cruz into a flyout.

While Koenig had a missed catch error in the seventh, Bryse Wilson came in to finish the inning and ended up working 3 ²⁄₃ innings. He was charged with the loss as Reds pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal hit a walk-off in the 11th inning, but his performance was about as good as one could hope.

The Brewers’ lone chance in extra-innings was deflated by a close play at the plate. Turang hit a chopper to India with the infield shifted in. Andruw Monasterio was running home on the contact play, but India was sure-handed on the high bounce to throw home.

The Brewers head back to Milwaukee for a homestand beginning Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies. This missed opportunity shouldn’t mean too much in the grand scheme of the season as they now face three consecutive series against .500 or worse teams.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10 p.m. with Freddy Peralta pitching against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. The game will be on Bally Sports Wisconsin and MLB Network.