CINCINNATI —The Milwaukee Brewers scratched out a 5-4, extra-inning win despite not playing the crispest of games in the first end of a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds on a sweltering afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
They also avoided a major injury scare to a player as critical as any entering the stretch run.
When Jackson Chourio hobbled his way up the first-base line after tweaking his ankle running out a grounder in the fifth inning and had to subsequently be helped off the field, it seemed as if the Brewers, already snakebit by injuries, had just been zapped by even more venom.
"I really wasn’t holding my breath. I was trying to be undaunted," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, referencing his motto for his club. "But I felt some daunt."
But Chourio, sure enough, bounced back quickly and was next seen sprinting out to left field when the Brewers went back out to play defense.
"Must be nice to be 20," panned Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell.
That was the great news for Milwaukee on an afternoon that reached 98 degrees. A rung below on the ladder for a team seemingly content to cruise to a division title was the result of the game.
The Brewers weren’t particularly sharp in any single facet with the exception of their bullpen, which was enough to walk away with a one-run victory in the first inning.
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Willy Adames and William Contreras each hit a solo home run to stake the Brewers to a 4-3 lead in the fourth, and Devin Williams protected a one-run lead by stranding the automatic runner in the 10th inning to conclude six scoreless innings from Milwaukee relievers.
Bryan Hudson, Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig and Trevor Megill each put up zeroes on the scoreboard in succession of starter Colin Rea, who uncharacteristically struggled with his command and allowed four runs over four innings.
From the moment Rea was pulled, it was a game managed with full intent of winning by Murphy even though there was another still to come later that evening. Turns out that "Win tonight," another of Murphy's core philosophies, applies even when there's another game to potentially win tonight.
"That’s just how Murph manages," Williams said. "The opportunity for a win was there, so he went for it. I think all the players would get behind something like that."
The 10th-inning chess game
The decisive inning featured a chess match for Murphy and the Brewers, but not against the Reds' dugout.
They were pitted against themselves, their desired usage of the bullpen and the looming nightcap.
Ultimately, Murphy's late-game strategy boiled down to one tenet he felt in his core: Get the ball to Williams with a lead in the 10th, and take some risks to do it.
In the top of the 10th, Murphy had Brice Turang lead off with a bunt to at the very least move the automatic runner to third. Turang laid down a perfect cue and reached first to spark a potential big inning, though Sal Frelick followed with a double-play grounder that scored a run but squashed the hopes of a crooked number.
Still, the Brewers had one run. And for Williams, that's often enough.
"I was only going to use Devin if we took the lead," Murphy said. "I knew that with the lead, Devin’s the guy that can get you a punchout. Get you a punch and maybe not give up a run in that situation. That’s why I chose to have Turang bunt for a hit. He was safe but even if he wasn’t, we’re going get one run maybe. That’s not the way you usually do it on the road usually – you play for two."
Williams struck out Elly De La Cruz to open the bottom of the 10th and, after a Spencer Steer pop out, was seemingly on the verge of a relatively stress-free save against the Reds, a team he historically dominates. Instead, TJ Friedl battled back from a 2-2 count to draw a walk to bring up France, who fell behind, 0-2, and worked Williams for a 10-pitch at-bat.
The Brewers closer won the battle with a fastball that got in on the hands of France for a fly to right to move Milwaukee to a season-high 22 games above .500 at 78-56.
Williams had some strategy of his own to work through.
A base was open with De La Cruz at the plate, a spot in which the Brewers have walked him in the past, and more favorable matchups to follow. But even after falling behind, 2-0, to the Reds' star shortstop, Williams never fully gave in. He challenged him with a fastball before getting him to strikeout on a couple of changeups just off the plate.
"There’s definitely certain guys you don’t want to beat you," Williams said. "I feel like Elly’s one of those guys. If you’re looking at their lineup I’m going to make somebody else do it. I was just trying to get the first out and he was the first guy up. So I attacked accordingly."
In recording his seventh save of the year, Williams continued his domination of the Reds, who haven't managed a hit off him since the land where the mound now sits was a part of the Ohio Territory. Williams has now gone 12 2/3 innings without allowing a base hit to Cincinnati, a stretch that spans 44 plate appearances and dates back to August 7, 2022.
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Injury scare for Jackson Chourio
Milwaukee collectively held its breath in the fifth inning.
As Chourio hobbled his way down the first-base line into foul territory in shallow right field before getting help off the field from first base coach and head athletic trainer Scott Barringer, there was real concern he was seriously hurt.
By the time Chourio got near the Brewers dugout, though, he was able to put more weight on his right foot. Minutes later, he came out in left field for the bottom of the fifth.
Chourio was held out of the lineup for the second game of the doubleheader as he dealt with swelling in his ankle, but Murphy indicated that a fracture had been avoided.
"That’s a scary play," Mitchell said. "You obviously don’t want that to happen. I’m glad he’s moving around fine and not in too bad of shape."
High-scoring affair early
The Brewers clawed their way to three runs to take a 4-3 lead with a series of hard-hit balls in the fourth.
Contreras's 19th homer of the season drew Milwaukee within, 3-2, to lead off the inning. It was Contreras's eighth homer in August after hitting six combined in a three-month span from May-July.
The line drives didn't stop there. Adames followed his first-inning homer with a line drive hit to left, then moved to third when Mitchell roped a double to right. With the Brewers on the verge of squandering a scoring threat of two in scoring position with no outs, Frelick came through with a two-out single to center that gave Milwaukee its first lead of the day, 4-3.
Rea delivered a scoreless fourth, his second straight zero on the board, but couldn't keep the Reds at bay despite facing one hitter in the fifth. Jonathan India kept a solo homer down the line just fair to draw the score even at 4-4.
Early exchange of runs
A couple of bang-bang plays that didn't go the Brewers' way helped stake the Reds to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Rea failed to secure a toss from first baseman Rhys Hoskins while racing to first base on a grounder off the bat of the speedy De La Cruz, who scored two batters later when Friedl barely beat out a double play attempt that would have ended the inning.
Adames got the run back with a solo blast leading off the second, his 25th home run of the season, but the tie was short-lived. Adames, who entered the day with an .894 OPS and 11 homers dating back to the start of July, became the first Brewers shortstop in franchise history with multiple 25-plus home run seasons.
Brewers schedule
Brewers vs. Reds, 5:40 p.m. Friday. Milwaukee TBA vs. Cincinnati TBA. TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers vs. Reds, 6:15 p.m. Saturday. Milwaukee RHP Frankie Montas (6-9, 4.64) vs. Cincinnati RHP. Broadcasts: TV – FOX. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers vs. Reds, 11:10 p.m. Sunday. Milwaukee RHP Tobias Myer (6-5, 2.99) vs. Cincinnati RHP. Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
