Milwaukee Brewers 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
PHOENIX, July 20 — Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke scattered six hits across seven innings, striking out nine in the process. He also added an RBI double in the fifth to give himself the lead. But it all went for naught, as Andrew Chafin and Zack Godley each gave up three runs. Their counterparts in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen collectively gave up one hit, struck out 10, and walked only one across four innings of shutout ball en route to an 8-3 Brewers victory.
Diamondbacks Take Early Lead over Brewers
A one-out single in the bottom of the first by center fielder Ketel Marte opened the hitting for the Diamondbacks. After he advanced to second on a wild pitch, he scored on a two-out single up the middle by first baseman Christian Walker. Right fielder Adam Jones then grounded to third to end the inning.
Big Sticks for Brewers Tie the Game
Both Greinke and Brewers starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, starting his first game since May 27th, cruised until the top of the fourth. Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich led off that inning with a double to left against the shift. The reigning National League MVP came around to score when left fielder Ryan Braun followed with a single to center. He reached third two hitters later on a double by second baseman Keston Hiura. After an intentional walk to first baseman Eric Thames, Greinke bore down and whiffed both shortstop Tyler Saladino and Gonzalez.
Gonzalez Exits Early for the Brewers
The two pitchers traded zeros in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Gonzalez surrendered three consecutive doubles. First, shortstop Nick Ahmed smashed a liner off the wall in right-center to get the crowd of 38,567 riled up. Next, catcher Carson Kelly ripped a towering fly ball high off the 25-foot wall in dead center to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. Then Greinke, after a six-pitch at-bat, ripped a double just inside the line in left to extend the lead to 3-1 and chase Gonzalez from the game.
Peralta Puts the Fire Out, Thames Narrows the Gap
Right-hander Freddy Peralta came in to stop the bleeding. After left fielder Tim Locastro moved Greinke to third with a sacrifice bunt, Marte and Escobar each struck out, leaving Greinke stranded on third. These two outs were the first of nine straight retired by the Brewers bullpen. Meanwhile, the Brewers narrowed their deficit to 3-2 when Thames smashed a no-doubt solo home run past the pool in right-center with two out.
Greinke Leaves Game, Diamondbacks Bullpen Falls Apart
Greinke left the game after pitching seven innings. With the Diamondbacks still holding a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth, lefty Andrew Chafin took the hill to face the Milwaukee sluggers. Yelich led off with a single that deflected off Chafin and advanced to second when Braun followed with a walk. Up came third baseman Mike Moustakas, who lined a three-run home run into the left field bleachers to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead. Chafin retired the next three consecutive hitters to prevent further damage.
Arizona looked like it might be able to respond in the bottom of the eighth when Marte lined a triple past a diving Braun and into the left field corner, but flame-throwing left hander Josh Hader came into the game and struck out both Eduardo Escobar and Walker.
Zack Godley came in to pitch the ninth for the Diamondbacks and had trouble finding his command. He walked two straight before striking out catcher Yasmani Grandal, but Yelich sent him packing with an RBI double to make the score 6-3 Brewers. Stefan Crichton then relieved Godley and struck out Braun before walking Moustakas intentionally. Then Hiura put the final nail in the coffin with a two-run single that gave the Brewers an 8-3 lead and sent a large portion of the fans to the exits. Thames then popped to third to end the top of the ninth. Jeremy Jeffress pitched the bottom of the ninth, and his only blemish was a two-out walk to Ahmed.
Reliever Adrian Houser earned his third win of the season, while Chafin notched his second loss. The Brewers and Diamondbacks play the series finale Sunday.
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