Brewers Defeat Diamondbacks, 5-1
Even games in July can matter in the Wild Card race, and Thursday night in Phoenix was one such example. Two teams separated by a half-game – the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks — squared off. The Brewers lit up dependable reliever Yoan Lopez to defeat the Diamondbacks, 5-1.
Both starters pitched brilliantly in their hometown. Brewers starter Zach Davies – a 2011 graduate of Mesquite High School in suburban Gilbert – scattered five hits across seven innings of one-run ball. Merrill Kelly, a 2007 graduate of Desert Mountain High School in suburban Scottsdale, pitched seven innings. He allowed one run and only three hits, but his strong effort went for naught.
Early Defensive Wizardry
The Diamondbacks nearly jumped out to an early lead. After the Brewers went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Diamondbacks started off the bottom of the inning with two quick outs. Then second baseman Eduardo Escobar ripped a deep drive to right-center. As it started to clear the fence to the right of the 413 sign and enter the pool area, Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain leaped and snatched it out of the air. The home run robbery drew excited yells from the Brewers, a hat tip from Escobar, and wowed applause from much of the 23,985 in attendance.
Brewers and Diamondbacks Each Score in the Second
Moustakas led off the top of the second with a towering fly toward the overhanging picnic area in left-center. In any other ballpark in the league, it would have been long gone. However, the wall in center is 25 feet high, and this ball hit about 23 feet up. It clanged off the lip on the front of the metal overhang and floated high in the air before plopping into the waiting glove of center fielder Ketel Marte. Marte immediately gunned it to third. The play would have been close, but the throw was well wide of the bag, and Moustakas had his first triple of the season.
A sacrifice fly by Braun plated Moustakas to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead, but that was all they could manage in the second. The Diamondbacks responded in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk and stolen base by first baseman Christian Walker. He scored when third baseman Jake Lamb hit a one-out single to center but ended the inning on second base.
Brewers Bats Go Silent, Diamondbacks Fail to Capitalize
From the third to seventh innings, Kelly allowed only two hits – a leadoff single in the fourth by right fielder Christian Yelich and a leadoff single in the seventh by catcher Yasmani Grandal. Neither amounted to anything, as Kelly followed the Yelich single with three straight strikeouts. Grandal’s single went away at the hands of a 4-6-3 double play.
Davies gave up more hits than Kelly but still kept the hometown nine off the scoreboard. In the third, left fielder Tim Locastro hit a one-out single and stole second but remained there the rest of the inning. A one-out single in the fourth by right fielder Adam Jones went to waste when Lamb grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Two reached in the sixth, as Marte hit a leadoff single and Walker drew a one-out walk, but Jones followed by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play. Ahmed singled with one out in the seventh, but he remained on first for the rest of the inning.
Lorenzo Cain Saves the Day
Cain made two more spectacular grabs to save the game for the Brewers. The first out in the third came when Cain robbed Merrill Kelly of his first major league hit. It came on a deep drive toward the right-center-field corner. As the drive headed toward the wall, Cain turned around, sprinted, and made a lunging catch on the run to prevent a certain extra-base hit. With one out in the seventh, catcher Carson Kelly smoked one to the wall in dead center that certainly would have scored Ahmed from first. However, Cain ran that one down on the warning track, topping it off with an over-the-shoulder basket catch.
Bad Luck and Timely Hitting Lift Brewers, Doom Lopez
Dependable right hander Yoan Lopez took the mound in the top of the eighth with the score still tied at one. He had been remarkable so far this season, only allowing six earned runs in 36 innings for an ERA of 1.50 and an opponent’s batting average of .181. Unfortunately for him, the Brewers hit him hard, and a spout of bad luck did not help matters for him. First baseman Eric Thames led off the frame with a rocket to right that bounced into the crowd for a ground rule double. Second baseman Keston Hiura then hit a one-hopper back to the mound, but Lopez could not glove it. Instead, it deflected to Escobar, who did not have a play on either the advancing Thames or Hiura, putting runners on the corners. Arcia then dumped a single into center on a 1-2 count, bringing Thames across with the go-ahead run.
With runners now on second and third, Jesus Aguilar hit for Davies, who was now in position to get the win. On the second pitch, the runners took off. Kelly’s throw to third sailed high and well into left field, allowing Hiura to score and Arcia to reach third. Aguilar eventually hit a sacrifice fly to right, extending the Brewers’ lead to 4-1. Cain followed with a single, chasing Lopez from the game. McFarland came in and finished the inning without allowing any more runners to score.
Final Inning and a Half
Jeremy Jeffress took over pitching duties for Milwaukee in the bottom of the eighth. Marte and Escobar hit consecutive one-out singles, but Walker grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and waste yet another opportunity. Left fielder Ryan Braun led off the ninth with a homer to extend the Milwaukee lead to four, and the Diamondbacks went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the deal for the Brewers. The teams will play three more games between Friday and Sunday.
The win went to Davies (8-2, 2.79 ERA), who started his 100th Major League game. Lopez (1-3, 2.23) took the loss.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
