Brewers 3, Cardinals 2: Bullpen’s Back, Alright

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 22 pitches, 14 strikes (63.6%)
Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (4), Brian Anderson (6) 
Top 3 WPA: Devin Williams (.512), Willy Adames (.164), Joel Payamps (.120) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Mike Brosseau (-.157), Darin Ruf (-.147), Peter Strzelecki (-.090) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Miley Is Headed To The IL 
After retiring the first three St. Louis batters in order, the second inning started off with Miley giving up a solo homer to Nolan Arenado, in what started to seem like a rehash of the day before. Luckily, after walking Paul DeJong, he rebounded to record the final two outs of his outing, before a mound visit was called.

It was later reported that he felt pain in his left shoulder, and despite his best efforts to pitch through it, he ultimately departed the game extremely early. Already, the team and Miley have acknowledged that he will head to the IL. First Brandon Woodruff, now Miley. What have we done to deserve such punishment?

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
To finish the game, Craig Counsell called on the services of five bullpen members. They combined for nine strikeouts and just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings of work. Milwaukee relievers just stayed one step ahead of the Cardinals lineup. 

Despite recording two back-to-back walks, Elvis Peguero induced three groundouts to escape the third inning unscathed. In the sixth, Joel Payamps had two runners in scoring position after giving up consecutive singles and allowing Tommy Edman to steal second base. He got himself out of the jam by getting Brendan Donovan to line out and striking out Andrew Knizner.

Hoby Milner surrendered the sole run of the bullpen bunch, giving up a double to Tommy Edman and an RBI single to Brendan Donovan.

I’m Sorry, We’re Closed

If you didn’t watch the game, it’s hard to fathom how Devin Williams has an astronomical WPA of .512. Let me paint the picture for you.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Peter Strzelecki followed up a strong scoreless seventh inning with a bumpy second frame of work. Before he knew it, the Cardinals had baserunners on the corners with one out. At this point in the game, the Brewers were up 3-2, so St. Louis was just 90 feet away from tying the game. 

Williams was called into that dire situation, and ended the inning with a strikeout and a groundout. The Brewers failed to score in the top of the ninth, so Williams shouldered the burden of winning the game for his team. He recorded the first two outs with ease before he allowed a double to Willson Contreras. 

After an intentional walk of Nolan Arenado, Paul DeJong was the final batter. With a swish, a flick, and a bit of airbending, DeJong would hit a weak grounder to third, serving as the final out of an exhilarating second half. It was an incredible five-out save effort.

Pain Comes In The Form Of Home Runs
Two doubles in the first inning by Owen Miller and Willy Adames notched Milwaukee’s first run, but the lineup would fall dormant until the fifth and sixth innings. Joey Wiemer reignited the scoring and tie the game at two runs apiece with a solo moonshot to center field. 

It was his first home run on the road, and boy was it hit hard. 108.8 mph off the bat and a launch angle of 19 degrees were good enough for 417 feet of total distance, the longest ball of today’s game. 

After this homer, it seemed like there would be more to come. The Brewers loaded the bases with a string of good hitting, but Mike Brosseau and Darin Ruf squandered their opportunities the game remained tied at 2-2.

Brian Anderson hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot to center field in the same vicinity as Wiemer’s. That gave Milwaukee the 3-2 lead the team would maintain through the remainder of the game.

What’s Next?
At one game a piece, the series will be decided tomorrow with Corbin Burnes taking the ball against recent Cardinals call-up Matthew Liberatore, who will be making his season debut. In his last four starts, Burnes has started to resemble the man of legend, notching an ERA of 1.96 over the stretch. This could be a sign that the proper adjustments have been made to return him to full strength. 

The Brewers still maintain a two-game lead over the Pirates, and have a 7.5-game edge over the Cardinals, who have seemed like their usually formidable selves as of late.  Hey, remember when they were going to move Willson Contreras to the outfield?

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