Article: Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 1: Pitching Showdown Ends With A Bang

[Jason Wang]

It was a slow start for both lineups as Corbin Burnes and Merrill Kelly brought their best stuff to the mound. Kelly ended up blinking first, giving way to a hitting onslaught by the Brewers in the seventh inning. 

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score 

SP: Corbin Burnes - 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (89 pitches, 65 strikes (73.0%)
Home Runs: Willy Adames (3), Rowdy Tellez (2), Mike Brosseau (1)
Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (.384), Willy Adames (.189), Victor Caratini (.079) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Brice Turang (-.119), Christian Yelich (-.056), Joey Wiemer (-.040) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

 

Corbin Shuts Down the Diamondbacks 
To say that Corbin Burnes was back in Cy Young form would be an understatement. His first two season starts painted a dim picture for the ace, but his assassin-like efficiency in this game was no fun for the Arizona lineup. Notably, he struck out eight batters while walking zero, achieving a strike percentage of 73%, and retiring 16 consecutive batters. Everything seemed to be clicking, including his famous back-door cutter.

He was able to go eight innings, giving his bullpen some much-needed rest and requiring only the services of Joel Payamps to finish a dominant victory against a formidable NL opponent.

 

Milwaukee Offense Starts Up Late
Corbin Burnes wasn’t the only pitcher that had a good night. Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly sailed through the first six innings, giving up naught but a few walks and a hit by pitch. Things started to come apart in the seventh, as Willy Adames hit a home run to start things off before Rowdy Tellez and Brian Anderson were both walked.

Miguel Castro replaced Merrill Kelly, but the Brewers' offensive momentum was simply too much to handle. A Garrett Mitchell single would load the bases before a Victor Caratini walk allowed Rowdy Tellez to score, followed by a two-run double by Mike Brosseau. Castro would fail to get the final out of the inning before being relieved by Kyle Nelson, who got Christian Yelich to ground out, capping off a five-run scoring outburst for the Brew Crew.

 

Homers For Everyone!
Rowdy Tellez also managed to hit his second home run of the season against José Ruiz, while Brosseau added insult to injury, hitting his first homer of the season against Carlos Vargas to put the Brewers up 7-0 at the top of the ninth inning. 

Of the three home runs hit by Milwaukee, Rowdy’s had the most interesting batted ball data.

Batter	Exit Velocity (mph)	Launch Angle (degrees)	Distance (feet)	xBA
Willy Adames	108.7	29	416	.990
Rowdy Tellez	94.9	28	365	.180
Mike Brosseau	104.0	27	399	.870

Expected Batting Average (xBA) is a Statcast metric that measures how often balls with similar characteristics (speed, trajectory, and direction) end up as hits. Adames’s long shot had an xBA of .990, which essentially means that it was a no-doubter, whereas Tellez’s home run had an xBA of just .180. In fact, it was very similar to a ball he hit in the fourth inning which had an exit velocity of 104.5 mph and a distance of 385 feet, despite ending up as a lineout.

What’s Next?
The Brewers will play the last game of the series at Chase Field to settle the best-of-three with the Diamondbacks, before meeting the San Diego Padres in their backyard. Due to Brandon Woodruff recently being placed on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation, right-hander Janson Junk has been recalled from the Nashville Sounds to take his place.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Payamps	22	17	0	0	23	62
Guerra	0	28	0	20	0	48
Bush	18	0	29	0	0	47
B Wilson	12	0	0	34	0	46
Varland	12	32	0	0	0	44
Strzelecki	0	0	20	0	0	20
Williams	0	0	14	0	0	14
Milner	7	0	5	0	0	12

 

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