Brewers 7, Giants 3: I Want You To Put The Word Out There, That We Back Up

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 87 pitches, 53 strikes (60.9%)
Home Runs: William Contreras (2), Willy Adames (6)
Top 3 WPA: Willy Adames (.188), Joel Payamps (.179), William Contreras (.146)
Bottom 3 WPA: Tyrone Taylor (-.077), Brian Anderson (-.037), Hoby Milner (-.031) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Houser Keeps It Cool In Season Debut
Adrian Houser gave up seven hits but gave up just two earned runs. Since each hit was a single, he was able to limit the damage but his pitching began to deteriorate in the fifth inning and thus was pulled before he could concede any longer balls.

He showed off some good stuff, almost touching 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and putting some great horizontal run on his sinker.

As with any player returning from injury, the hope is that Houser has truly made a full recovery and will be operating within the starting rotation at 100%. To make room for his activation from the IL, Tyson Miller was optioned to the Nashville Sounds.

Adames Was Tired Of Losing
With 4 RBI, it’s no surprise that Adames had the highest individual WPA. The four RBI came by way of a sacrifice fly in the third inning, a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and a single in the ninth inning. In addition to putting his team on his back, an important individual milestone was met today as the home run was his 100th as a major leaguer.

The home run had an exit velocity of 103.5 miles per hour and a total distance of 394 feet, good enough for a .730 xBA and to be a home run in every ballpark except Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Interestingly enough, his sacrifice fly had a higher xBA at .920, boasting an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and a total distance of 336 feet.

William Contreras also had two RBI by way of an early home run in the second inning to score himself and Rowdy Tellez. The batted ball data on his home run was remarkably similar to that of Adames’s home run, having an exit velocity of 107.7 mph and a total distance of 396 feet. 

Christian Yelich joined the RBI party in the ninth inning by hitting a single to score Joey Wiemer and add an insurance run, bringing the score to 7-2 in favor of the Brewers.

Williams Is Imperfect, Just Like Us
After Houser’s relatively short start, the bullpen was tasked with finishing off the rest of the game and they passed with flying colors. Across the final four innings of the game, Hoby Milner, Joel Payamps, and Peter Strzelecki gave up zero earned runs, and struck out eight across the three of them. 

Joel Payamps especially played a crucial role in getting out of trouble in the sixth inning after Hoby Milner had given up a double to Wilmer Flores and a single to Blake Sabol. He did give up a single and was called for another balk in the seventh inning, his second of the series, but back-to-back strikeouts of Mitch Haniger and Joc Pederson nixed any hopes of any runs being scored for San Francisco.

In more unfortunate news, Devin Williams gave up his first earned run today in the form of a home run to Thairo Estrada in the ninth inning. To make matters worse, it was crushed on his patented “airbender” pitch. 

His ERA for the season now stands at 0.87.

What’s Next? 
After snapping what seemed to be a never-ending losing streak, the Brewers will face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers at home as Freddy Peralta will pitch opposite fellow-righty Tony Gonsolin. Perhaps a longer stretch at American Family Field will be what Milwaukee needs to return the win column on a more frequent basis.

Postgame Interviews

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