Brewers 7, Mariners 3: Brewers Bring The Pain To The Pacific Northwest

Box Score

SP: Corbin Burnes - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 85 pitches, 52 strikes (61.2%)
Home Runs: Brice Turang (2)
Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (.168), Luke Voit (.139), Brian Anderson (.116) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Garrett Mitchell (-.071), Christian Yelich (-.035), Peter Strzelecki (-.022) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Burnes Limits The Damage
In the team’s first series against an American League opponent, Corbin Burnes was able to hold the Mariners to just two earned runs. He still didn’t seem like his dominant self, striking out just three batters, and Burnes was heavily reliant on his defense. He struggled to paint the edges of the zone with his cutter the way he normally would. Also aided by a generous strike zone, Burnes still gave up just one tally, on a home run in the second inning by Cal Raleigh.

He did have a somewhat flashy defensive play to catch Eugenio Suarez stealing third base to end the fourth inning. Maybe he doesn’t need strikeouts, after all.

In the sixth inning, though, that play took on a sinister new significance. After a four-pitch walk to J.P. Crawford, Burnes got Julio Rodriguez to fly out to center field, but started calling for the training staff the moment the ball settled in Garrett Mitchell's glove. Manager Craig Counsell said after the game that the team diagnosed Burnes with a left pectoral strain. It's believed to be very mild, and Burnes might even make his next scheduled start, but the nervousness among Brewers fans will only die down if and when it becomes clear that Burnes will avoid the injured list.

Teamwork Wins Games
Rather than one or two players putting the team on their backs, it felt good to watch everyone chip in. Six different players contributed an RBI, with a seventh run being attributed to an error by J.P Crawford. Of the 10 players who had plate appearances, eight of them recorded at least one hit, and the two players who weren’t able to get a hit (Christian Yelich and Joey Wiemer) still recorded at least one walk apiece. 

Brice Turang also hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot to right center field on the first pitch he saw from Penn Murfee. 

Overall, the Brewers seemed like a cohesive, well-rounded, dangerous team with no free outs. Everything was clicking, and everyone did what was required of them to get the first win of the series.

Brian Anderson Has A Productive Night
While he batted in just one run, Brian Anderson went 3-for-5 at the plate. Two of his batted balls had exit velocities greater than 95 mph and if he had been able to get a little steeper of a launch angle, they might have landed for extra bases. 

Anderson has been making more consistent contact this year, with his batting average sitting at .298 as opposed to his career average of .256. His highest full-season batting average was .273, and that came in 2018 with the Miami Marlins, so we’ll see if this is a short-term trend or a sign of overall improvement.

What’s Next?
The Brewers have two more games against the Seattle Mariners, the next one featuring a pitching showdown between right-handers Colin Rea and Logan Gilbert. Rea looked exceptional in his first start for the Brewers, and hopes to continue performing at the highest level while filling Brandon Woodruff’s spot in the rotation. 

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Tweet Highlight

A few days ago, Rowdy Tellez said that he could beat Luke Voit in a race. After watching this base-running highlight, I'm starting to think that may be true.