Brewers win, 9-5, with another early surge, late pull away

Plenty of early offense but the Brewers don’t avoid some late drama

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers secured the series win against the Oakland Athletics with another offensive burst against an A’s starter.

This time, it came against the flamethrowing but erratic Joe Boyle as the Brewers worked their way to a 9-5 win.

The Brewers lineup is more than capable of winning this style of game. Deep counts, taking their walks, and stringing together hits is one of the many qualities that makes this roster stand out. It worked to perfection Saturday afternoon as they scored three runs in the second inning.

To lead off the inning, a single, walk, and single set the stage for an explosive inning that never actually involved a lone explosive moment. After those three batters reached base, Willy Adames scored on a ground out. Blake Perkins hit a single to score another run. Then two more walks brought in another run for an early 3-1 lead.

The Brewers punished Boyle’s approach with those three walks in that inning and four overall against Boyle. By the end of the third inning, Boyle had already thrown over 70 pitches.

Jake Bauers added a two-run home run in the fifth inning to punctuate the offensive showing against the A’s starter. The Brewers continue to succeed with deep counts and runners on base.

As for the Brewer pitching staff, Colin Rea was mostly efficient, but marred by a few home runs. Rea worked 6 ²⁄₃ innings and allowed four earned runs, but he never threw more than 20 pitches in an inning.

After allowing a solo home run to JJ Bleday in the first inning, Rea settled in rather nicely for most of the game. He used his sinker well to find called strikes to set up aggressive counts. Through the second to fifth innings, only one runner reached second base. Then in the bottom of the sixth, he gave up a two-run homer to Brent Rooker to make it 5-3. The Brewers had put together some impressive offensive moments, but they were unable to repeat last night’s performance of simply running away with the game.

The A’s made a fair bit of hard contact against Rea, but outside of the home runs bookending his performance, it was a fairly solid performance. He kept the team in the game, didn’t allow a walk, and even racked up 15 whiffs.

Rea pitched into the seventh inning but departed with a runner in scoring position after Zack Gelof singled and stole second base. Jared Koenig came in for relief and allowed a double to Daz Cameron, the A’s pinch-hitter. That once again let the A’s stay close, bringing the score to a narrow 5-4 lead for Milwaukee.

The Brewers are no strangers to late-inning drama, of course. Despite Oakland’s attempt to close the gap, the Brewers added some late insurance. Bauers worked a walk in the eighth inning. Then, with two outs, Garrett Mitchell somehow blooped a double in fair territory to send Bauers home.

If that wasn’t enough, the whole team rallied in the top of the ninth with some clever baserunning and hustle plays to pressure the A’s bullpen. Brice Turang ripped a double just inside the fair line to lead off the inning. Jackson Chourio, the Brewers most reliable spark plug lately, singled on an infield groundball. The A’s challenged the play, but Chourio was ruled safe.

Yet another play fell in the Brewers’ favor when another groundball, this time from William Contreras, let Turang sprint home on another tight call that the umpires reviewed but ultimately ruled safe.

The Brewers win games like this by capitalizing on small mistakes from opponents. A full-count walk from Willy Adames left no room for error when a wild pitch sent yet another runner across the plate.

And that was all before Oakland recorded an out.

Rhys Hoskins hit another RBI single on a blooper to shallow left field, enough to send the Brewers to the bottom of the ninth with a 9-4 lead.

At that point, the A’s had inflicted too much damage on themselves. The Brewers’ bullpen locked up the lead. Joel Payamps went three up, three down on just 12 pitches in the eighth inning before Bryse Wilson finished off the game. While he allowed one run on three hits, he escaped the inning with relatively little damage done and the 9-5 win secured.

Seven of the nine starters tallied a hit with the team going 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The Brewers have represented much more home run potential this year, but this was another example of their ability to win in nearly every other facet. The A’s might not be the most threatening opponent, but this was an exciting win in a game that featured 22 combined hits.

The Brewers will go again tomorrow with their mission being to complete the sweep. Frankie Montas will face off against Joey Estes at 3:07 p.m.