Brewers 3, Orioles 6: Strong Start, Weak Finish

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Colin Rea - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 84 pitches, 59 strikes (70.2%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Colin Rea (.226), Willy Adames (.057), Elvis Peguero (.047) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Peter Strzelecki (-.564), Bryse Wilson (-.121), Rowdy Tellez (-.096) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Rea Has Best Start Of Season
In a dazzling display of pitching prowess, Rea fanned eight batters while giving up just three hits and zero earned runs. Utilizing six different pitches, he was able to stay one step ahead of the Baltimore lineup for all five innings of his start. 

The last time he had a start that was almost as good was on 5/23 against the Houston Astros where he went 5.1 innings while giving up zero earned runs and striking out four.

Rea isn’t a particularly overpowering presence on the mound but he’s been a reliable replacement for a rotation that has been ravished by injury. Since stepping up to fill his spot in the rotation, he’s posted a 4.47 ERA and a WHIP of 1.22 over 52.1 innings.

Offense Warms Up Early, Then Disappears Into The Night
The Brewers got the action started right away, scoring several runs in the first inning. After a lead-off walk by Christian Yelich and a single by Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez hit a groundout to score Yelich as the first run. Milwaukee would pile on the pain with three consecutive singles by William Contreras, Owen Miller, and Jon Singleton to jump to a 3-0 lead.

The Brewers would fail to score for the remainder of the game but after plating their third runner, they had an estimated 82.9% chance to win the game. Their win probability peaked at 90.3% after the Orioles also failed to put up any significant offense and the Crew maintained their small but material lead.

Bullpen Mucks It Up
After a shutout sixth inning by Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps took the mound in the seventh and gave up a home run to Ramon Urias. He promptly struck out James McCann to end the inning and keep the Brewers up by two runs.

The eighth inning is really where things started to fall apart. Peter Strzelecki gave up a single to Adley Rutschman and a double to Anthony Santander, allowing the Orioles to bring the score to 3-2. Gunnar Henderson would hit a crushing home run to left field to score Santander and himself, taking the lead and bringing the score to 4-3 in favor of Baltimore. 

Heading into the ninth, the game still seemed winnable as Milwaukee was down by just one run. As long as they kept the Orioles scoreless, they had a chance. Hoby Milner stepped in and got into trouble immediately. He walked Aaron Hicks and gave up a single to Ramon Urias. James McCann laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Hicks and Mateo, Urias’s pinch runner. Adam Frazier would then hit a 2-RBI double to bring the score to a dismal 6-3 in favor of the Orioles.

In the bottom of the ninth, while facing a three-run deficit, the Brewers hit just one single in a sad attempt to save the game that seemed theirs to win.

What’s Next? 
The Brewers will be hosting the always challenging Oakland Athletics in a three-game series with Adrian Houser taking the mound in game one against Luis Medina. The Athletics are riding some significant momentum after outclassing the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series, out-scoring them 24-12. Let’s hope the Brewers avoid a similar fate.

Milwaukee currently holds a 1.0 game lead over the aforementioned Pirates to remain atop the NL Central.

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