Brewers 4, Royals 3: It’s A Wiemer Walk-Off

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 4.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 88 pitches, 59 strikes (67.0%)
Home Runs: Christian Yelich 2 (6)
Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.361), Devin Williams (.136), Hoby Milner (.107) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Brice Turang (-.170), Adrian Houser (-.156), Luke Voit (-.079) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Houser Gets Some Much-Needed Help
The Kansas City Royals got to work early against Adrian Houser, causing him to get pulled from the game after just four innings. A leadoff double by Bobby Witt Jr, a single by Salvador Perez and a sacrifice fly from MJ Melendez gave the Royals the first run of the game. In the third inning, Melendez and Nick Pratto cracked back-to-back doubles to give the Royals their second run. When Perez came up again and swatted a home run in the fifth, Craig Counsell lifted Houser.

Of Houser's eight hits allowed, four of them were off of his sinker, which was sitting around 92 miles per hour. Luckily, Houser was pulled before too much damage was dealt, an especially wise move given that his pitch count was approaching 90. In his two starts since returning from the IL, he has pitched a total of just 8 2/3 innings, with his ERA and WHIP currently sitting at 5.19 and 1.96 respectively. 

It’s Okay, The Bullpen Is Here
After Houser’s departure, however, the Brewers bullpen were completely untouchable, conceding just one hit and zero runs for the remaining five innings. The two standouts of the day were Hoby Milner and Peter Strzelecki. Milner was able to pitch two scoreless innings and Strzelecki notched three consecutive strikeouts of Edward Olivares, Michael Massey, and Nate Eaton. 

Throwback…Saturday?
In his most impressive performance of the season so far, Christian Yelich seemed like the slugger of yore, hitting two home runs and batting in three of the Brewers’ four total runs. His first home run was hit off of Zack Greinke in the third inning and was an absolute moonshot.

The batted-ball data showed an exit velocity of 110 mph, a total distance of 427 feet, and an xBA of .950. It was a true no-doubter to center field, counting as a home run in all 30 ballparks. 

His second home run was hit to left field off of reliever Josh Taylor in the sixth inning. It wasn’t hit as hard or as far, with an exit velocity of 105.2 mph, a total distance of 375 feet, and an xBA of .810. The only places the ball would’ve stayed in the park would have been Oriole Park, PNC Park, and Globe Life Field. But who cares? Seeing Christian Yelich hit two home runs is like reliving the day before Christmas Break in elementary school.

Wiemer Calls Game
In the ninth inning, the game was tied 3-3. Brian Anderson started off with a single, followed by a flyout by Brice Turang. The key to this win was actually Owen Miller, who hit a crucial double to advance Anderson to third base. The hit had a 20.9% WPA and allowed Joey Wiemer to bat in the deciding run with a sacrifice fly.

What’s Next? 
Colin Rea and Jordan Lyles will face off in the final game of the three-game series as Milwaukee hopes to complete the sweep. With today’s win, the Brewers now have a 1.5 game lead in the NL Central division over the Pirates, a position they’ll need to maintain if they want to secure their team’s ticket to the postseason.  

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