Myers shines as Brewers beat Rockies 5-2

Homers from Adames, Sánchez, and Contreras power offense

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers came into tonight’s game with the Colorado Rockies on a mini skid. They’d lost three in a row, tying a season-long streak, with two of those losses coming in tough extra-inning games. But you’ll hear baseball people talk about how an ace is the guy you can turn to to stop a slide, and tonight the Brewers got an ace-like outing from the guy who has been their best pitcher in the second half, Tobias Myers, who set a career-high in strikeouts while allowing just one run over six innings.

With some offensive struggles in the last week, the Brewers were looking for a quick start tonight. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, they got it. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez went back-to-back off of Rockies starter Ty Blach, Adames with a shot down the right-field line and Sánchez deep into left, handing Myers an early two-run lead to work with. It was Adames’ 30th home run of the season.

Myers ran into some trouble in the top of the second after last night’s hero, Michael Toglia, led off with a walk, and one out later, Jake Cave knocked a single into left, putting runners on the corners with one out. But Myers struck out the next two batters — something that would become a theme — and Milwaukee got out of the inning without any damage.

Milwaukee threatened again in the bottom of the second: Blake Perkins led off with a single and Sal Frelick hit a deep drive to deep center, but Brenton Doyle made a diving/falling catch to rob Frelick. Joey Ortiz followed with a double play groundout, and the inning was over.

As mentioned, Myers had his strikeout pitches working tonight, and he put that on display in the top of the third, as he struck out Charlie Blackmon, Ezequiel Tovar, and Doyle in order. Milwaukee then added to their lead in the bottom of the inning: Brice Turang led off with a bunt single, Jackson Chourio struck out, and William Contreras knocked a two-run homer to right to make it 4-0.

Colorado got on the board when Ryan McMahon led off the top of the fourth with a home run to right center, but Myers got the next three, including his eighth strikeout, putting him just one short of his season (and career) high through only four innings.

In the bottom of the inning, Perkins just missed his seventh homer of the year but it was caught on the warning track. Even so, the Brewers put together a two-out rally: Sal Frelick lined a base hit to right with two outs, and that ended Blach’s night, and his replacement, Jake Bird, was greeted rudely by Ortiz who snuck an RBI double past McMahon down the third-base line. Turang popped out to end the inning but Milwaukee got the run back and led 5-1 after four.

Myers got that ninth strikeout, which tied his season high, for the first out of the fifth, and got Drew Romo and Blackmon on a popout and flyout to end the inning. He was at 80 pitches through five.

Contreras walked in the bottom of the inning and was replaced at first on a fielder’s choice by Adames, who stole second base for his 17th steal of the season. But Bird struck out Sánchez to end the inning without letting the Brewers get any further ahead.

In the top of the sixth, Myers got his career-high 10th strikeout on Sam Hilliard, who had entered as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the fifth for Doyle, who appeared to injure his hand on his diving catch in the second. McMahon reached on a swinging bunt with two outs, but Myers struck out Toglia as well. It was Myers’ 98th pitch, and his night was over: six innings, one run, one walk, four hits, 11 strikeouts, and one of his best starts of the year.

Colorado’s next pitcher was Jaden Hill, sporting number zero, making his major league debut. Hill is 24, a 2021 second-round draft pick out of LSU with easy high-90s velocity. He had eye-popping strikeout numbers in the minors this year, with 69 strikeouts in 45 ¹⁄₃ innings, and while he didn’t strike anyone out in the sixth inning, he did work a quick 1-2-3 inning.

Jared Koenig was Myers’ replacement in the top of the seventh. Koenig struck out the first two and nearly got the third out when Ortiz made a spectacular barehanded play on a weak ground ball from Nolan Jones, but after it was initially called an out, it was overturned on review. No matter, as Koenig got the next batter, Romo, to fly out to right.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Chourio—who is one homer away from only the third ever 20/20 season by someone 20 or younger—came within about a foot of that 20th home run but had to settle for a double off the wall instead. Contreras followed with a ground ball that bounced off the pitcher, Jeff Criswell, for an infield hit, but with Adames up, the Brewers ran into an out when Chourio attempted a delayed steal of home after Contreras took off for second. You don’t love to see an out on the basepaths with Adames up and two on, but alas.

Koenig stuck around for the eighth and got the first two on fly balls to Frelick in right, but with two outs and nobody on, Hilliard also hit one to right but not one that Frelick could get—it was a monstrous home run, 110 mph off the bat and 434 feet into the bleachers. That made it 5-2, but Koenig got McMahon to fly out to center and the half-inning ended there.

Adames led off the bottom of the eighth with a base hit to left, which was nice, but which of course would have been nicer with Chourio still at third base! Oh well. With Criswell pitching (a righty), Garrett Mitchell pinch-hit for Sánchez and proceeded to strikeout looking. During the strikeout, Adames stole second, his second steal of the game. Pat Murphy continued to use his bench and put Jake Bauers in to hit for Rhys Hoskins, but this time Bud Black countered by bringing in Luis Peralta, Freddy’s little brother, who made his major league debut a couple of weeks ago. Peralta struck out Bauers for the second out and got Perkins on a flyout to left, and Adames was left stranded at second base.

With the lead at three, the Brewers went to Devin Williams for the bottom of the ninth. Tonight was one of the good days for Williams: he looked like he was toying with the Rockies as he struck out the side on 11 pitches, and the Brewers’ three-game losing streak was over.

Myers was the big story tonight, as he shut down the Rockies, aside from the one bases-empty mistake to McMahon. But Milwaukee also got good contributions from the top and bottom of the batting order: Chourio and Ortiz both hit doubles and Adames, Sánchez, and Contreras all homered, numbers 30, 10, and 21 on the season, respectively.

Milwaukee will look to win the series tomorrow afternoon when Freddy Peralta takes on Kyle Freeland at 1:10 p.m.