Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 4
PHOENIX, July 21st – Arizona Diamondbacks rookie pitcher Alex Young started his fourth major league game Sunday, this time against the Milwaukee Brewers. After a fantastic start, he surrendered a game-tying grand slam and left the game with his team tied. Then the Brewers scored three runs off the embattled Diamondbacks bullpen to win, 7-4.
Alex Young Starts Strong for Diamondbacks
Rookie right hander Alex Young retired 10 of the first 12 batters he faced, with a first inning double and third inning walk being his only blemishes. This came as no surprise to those who have followed him, as his four appearances of the season had been solid. He entered the game having allowed only two earned runs, three walks, and six hits in 18 2/3 innings for a 0.96 ERA in four appearances. In the process, he won all three of his starts while holding his opponents to a batting average of .100.
Young Hits a Wall in the Fourth Inning
Then the fourth inning happened. First baseman Jesus Aguilar walked with one out. When the next hitter, catcher Manny Pina, flied to right for the second out, it looked like Young might continue rolling. Then shortstop Orlando Arcia fought his way through a seven-pitch at-bat to line a 3-2 single to left, keeping the inning alive for the Brewers. That seemed to rattle Young, as he walked the next hitter – right fielder Ben Gamel – on five pitches.
Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Butcher visited the mound to try to settle Young down. Into the box stepped left fielder and utility man Tyler Saladino, hitting .102 on the season since being recalled from the minors. Nine out of ten times so far this season, Saladino has made an out. This was the 10th time, and what a time for it to happen.
Saladino sent a 1-0 pitch to the seats in left field for his first career grand slam, tying the game at four. This nullified another milestone home run, a two-run shot that Diamondbacks reserve catcher Alex Avila hit in the second inning for his 100th career home run. Young then struck out pitcher Brandon Woodruff – hitting .279 entering the game – to end the top half of the fourth, but the damage had been done.
Brewers and Diamondbacks Trade Zeros
With the game tied again, Woodruff took the mound in the bottom of the fourth but only threw two pitches. Suffering an oblique injury, he came out of the game in favor of right-hander Junior Guerra, who pitched two perfect innings, striking out four. Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley countered with two shutout innings of his own, allowing only one hit and one walk.
Claudio Pitches out of a Bases Loaded Jam
Left hander Alex Claudio took the mound for the Brewers in the bottom of the sixth and ran into some trouble. It began with one out, when shortstop Nick Ahmed walked on five pitches. Avila, facing an overshift to the right side of the infield, grounded into what could have been a 5-6-3 double play, but the hustling Avila beat the throw to first. Then left fielder Tim Locastro doubled him to third, and after pinch hitter Adam Jones drew an intentional walk to load the bases, Ildemaro Vargas pinch hit for the left-handed-hitting Jarrod Dyson. The count ran to 3-0 before two called strikes made it 3-2. On the next pitch, Vargas hit a dribbler between the mound and the plate. The heavy backspin caused it to die. Claudio sprinted off the mound, snatched it, and threw to first just in time to retire the side without any damage.
More Bullpen Mastery
Yoshihisa Hirano came into the game for the Diamondbacks in the seventh and struck out the side. Freddy Peralta – one of Saturday night’s heroes – took over pitching duties for the Brewers in the bottom of the seventh. He walked the first hitter but did not allow another baserunner, sending the thriller into the top of the eighth.
Brewers Rattle Lopez Again
Rookie second baseman Keston Hiura led off the top of the eighth against new pitcher Yoan Lopez. On a 2-2 count, he lined a shot into the right field corner that rattled around long enough for the hustling Hiura to make it all the way to third for a leadoff triple – his second extra-base hit of the game. Third baseman Mike Moustakas – whose three-run homer the previous night put the Brewers ahead for good – followed with a single up the middle to give the Brewers a 5-4 lead. He advanced to second when the next hitter – first baseman Jesus Aguilar – grounded to third on a slowly hit ball. Catcher Yasmani Grandal – pinch-hitting for Piña – brought Moustakas home when he smoked a double off the wall in dead center. Then Arcia flied to left, making the second out of the inning, bringing up Gamel.
That was the last batter Lopez faced, as T.J. McFarland came into the game to force a lefty-lefty matchup. Gamel singled, scoring Grandal, before Saladino grounded into a 6-4 force play to end the half-inning with a 7-4 Brewers lead. Jeremy Jeffress then pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth for the Brewers, followed by a scoreless ninth by both Diamondbacks reliever Stefan Crichton and Brewers closer Josh Hader.
Brewers Make Strides in Wild Card Race, Diamondbacks Fall to .500
The win gave the Brewers their third win of the four-game series between two teams in the thick of the Wild Card race. Peralta (4-3) earned the win in relief, while the loss went to Lopez (1-4). Hader picked up his 22nd save of the year, the fourth-highest total in the National League.
The Brewers (53-48) are now two games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central. The Diamondbacks (50-50), tied for second with the San Francisco Giants, are 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the Wild Card standings, the Brewers hold the second spot, trailing the Washington Nationals by a half-game. The Diamondbacks trail the Brewers by two and a half games.
The Diamondbacks open a three-game interleague series against the Baltimore Orioles (31-67) Monday night in Phoenix. The Brewers head home to Milwaukee to play a three-game intradivisional series against the Cincinnati Reds (44-53) Monday night.
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