Turang’s walk-off squeeze bunt propels Brewers over Royals, 3-2

It took 11 innings, but the Brewers escaped with a much-needed win

Don’t look now, but the Brewers have now given up just two runs in their last two games. Today’s game was a good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel, with Freddy Peralta delivering an absolute gem. Peralta gave up two hits in eight innings of work, striking out eight and allowing only one earned run while walking none.

Peralta didn’t end up with the win, however, because the Brewers couldn’t score for much of the game. Their only run before extras came courtesy of a first-inning home run from Jackson Chourio (3-for-5, two RBIs), who ended today’s game a triple short of the cycle.

Milwaukee brought out Abner Uribe for the top of the 10th, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Michael Massey. Uribe was able to stop the bleeding there, but Milwaukee still entered the bottom of the tenth down 2-1.

Luckily, Chourio was the first batter up. He immediately hit a hard line drive down the left field line, scoring ghost runner Brice Turang to tie the game.

Royals closer Carlos Estévez then walked Christian Yelich and William Contreras to load the bases. Sal Frelick, hitting behind Contreras, hit a ball as hard as I’ve seen him hit one all year. Unfortunately, he hit it right at second baseman Maikel Garcia. Estévez then retired Jake Bauers and Vinny Capra to keep it a tie game.

After Jared Koenig shut the Royals down in the top of the 11th, Garrett Mitchell grounded out to advance Oliver Dunn to third. Joey Ortiz then walked, bringing up Brice Turang to deliver the walk-off squeeze bunt.

The best thing about this win is that the Brewers didn’t hit very well today. Royals ace Cole Ragans was dealing, racking up 10 strikeouts across five innings. Milwaukee did end up with eight total hits, but five of them were courtesy of Chourio and Joey Ortiz. The Crew won this game because Freddy Peralta and the bullpen (Trevor Megill, Uribe, and Koenig) stepped up in a major way, and the offense delivered in the clutch. Any team with legitimate World Series aspirations needs to be able to find a way to win games when they’re not at their best.

The Brewers have had a rough start to the season. They’ve gotten blown out a few times, have six quality starters on the IL, and a few of their key contributors have underperformed expectations. They’ve also now won two straight.

Milwaukee will look to make it three tomorrow against the Cincinnati Reds. The game will be televised on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and broadcast via radio on the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. CT.