Brewers 6, Rangers 2: The Brooms in Texas Are Huge, Man

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 82 pitches, 53 strikes (64.6%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (.172), Christian Yelich (.107), Rowdy Tellez (.104) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (-.132), Carlos Santana (-.115), Brice Turang (-.029) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Houser Tosses Terrifically
While by no means flawless, Adrian Houser’s five-inning start was an integral part of this victory. It seemed like he was starting to wobble in the third inning, but he was able to recover and avoid further damage after giving up a home run to Corey Seager and a double to Nathaniel Lowe.

In addition to limiting runs, Houser was also able to strike out seven batters, earning seven swings and misses and 17 called strikes. His slider and sinker were particularly effective, relying more on exceptional command and placement than pure stuff and velocity. This continues a second-half upsweep in strikeout rate that bears watching.

Houser currently has a 4.28 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP across 88.1 innings pitched.

Brewers Beat Up On Scherzer and Smith 
Milwaukee started to get to work in the third inning, loading the bases with two walks and a single. Willy Adames sent the first runner home after getting hit by a pitch, and a Rowdy Tellez walk extended the Brewers' lead to 2-0. 

The scoring continued in the fourth, thanks to back-to-back doubles by Tyrone Taylor and Christian Yelich.

Finally, the team made a statement in the eighth, plating three runners and putting the nail in the coffin for the Rangers against their usual closer, Will Smith. After a two-run triple by Tyrone Taylor, Carlos Santana hit a single and recorded his 10th RBI of the road trip. 

Big Bullpen Effort 
Trevor Megill, Elvis Peguero, Bryse Wilson, and Devin Williams combined for four innings of relief and gave up two hits and two walks. The origin plan seemed to involve Wilson wrapping things up, but after Marcus Semien and Corey Seager made it to first and third respectively, Williams came in for the final out. He recorded his 30th save of the season on just three pitches, as Nathaniel Lowe lined out to left field.

What’s Next? 
The Brewers will get a day off to travel home to Milwaukee, before hosting the Minnesota Twins in a brief two-game series where Wade Miley will take the mound opposite Bailey Ober. Milwaukee maintains a three-game lead over the Chicago Cubs, and they stretched their advantage to four games over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central.

Postgame Interviews

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