Brewers rebound into All-Star break with dominant 9-3 win

Willy Adames leads the offense with a 4-for-4 day

Box Score

The Brewers have stumbled a bit in their last homestand, losing four of five games heading into the final game before the All-Star break. To avoid a four-game losing streak, they needed a great game. The offense provided one behind Colin Rea.

After Rob Zastryzny opened the game with a clean inning, the Brewers got a run in the first. With two outs, Christian Yelich doubled. Willy Adames followed that up with a long fly ball that fell short of the wall but bounced over for a ground-rule double that put the Brewers up 1-0.

Zastryzny recorded one more out to start the second before Colin Rea entered the game. He stumbled a little out of the block. Juan Yepez walked, then stole second base. Ildemaro Vargas brought Yepez in with a single, tying the game at 1-1.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the third inning. William Contreras put the Brewers back ahead with a solo home run. From there, Adames and Sal Frelick singled to put two runners on base with two outs. Joey Ortiz brought them in with an RBI single, and a misplay of the ball by right fielder Lane Thomas let the ball get to the right-field corner. Ortiz got to third and the Brewers were up 4-1.

The Nationals tagged on a run in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Lane Thomas. In the bottom of the inning, the Brewers added another three runs. Jackson Chourio drew a walk to set up Garrett Mitchell. He homered for the first time this season, increasing the lead to 6-2. Two more walks by Contreras and Yelich set up Adames again, and he drove in another run. That gave the Brewers a 7-2 lead after four innings.

Colin Rea worked around his two runs allowed for a strong day. He pitched through the seventh inning, allowing just the two runs in 5 ²⁄₃ innings. He also allowed five hits, and a walk, and struck out seven in the start.

Hoby Milner came in for relief in the eighth inning. A leadoff triple from CJ Abrams and a single from James Wood closed the gap to 7-3. That gap would be reopened and more in the bottom of the inning. Brice Turang led off the bottom of the eighth, then stole second for his 30th steal of the season. After Contreras struck out and Yelich grounded out, Adames came through with his fourth hit of the day. This one did not stay in the yard, and the Brewers widened the lead to 9-3.

The ninth inning went by without issue. Joel Payamps took the inning, and he struck out all three batters on 18 pitches. That secured the Brewers 9-3 win.

Adames led the day with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate. He had a home run, double, and two singles, and also added on a walk. Frelick and Ortiz contributed as well with two-hit days. As a team, the Brewers had 12 hits and also drew seven walks. Every starter reached base at least once, with six of them reaching base at least two times.

With the win today, the Brewers gain another game back in the standings as they move to 4 ¹⁄₂ ahead of the Cardinals. The Brewers now get a rare five days off in a row since their next series doesn’t start until Saturday. That will be a two-game series against the Twins. Meanwhile, stay tuned to Brew Crew Ball for your All-Star break coverage.