Brewers 8, Rockies 4: Jesús Aguilar delivers two more HRs

DENVER - Jesús Aguilar can't leave town fast enough as far as the Colorado Rockies are concerned.

The day after beating them with a ninth-inning, pinch-hit home run, the Milwaukee Brewers slugger went deep twice more Sunday to highlight an 8-4 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.

Aguilar, getting a start at first base with the Rockies pitching left-hander Kyle Freeland, drove in three runs and reached base three times as the Brewers won their third consecutive series and first on their three-city West Coast swing.

"I love it," Aguilar said of hitter-friendly Coors Field before moving into big-picture mode.

"Starting the road trip with a series win is a boost of energy for the club and it gives us a lot of confidence. We’re just happy we were able to get it done."

Sunday also marked the return of Brewers right-hander Chase Anderson, who was reinstated from the disabled list. He had missed seven weeks with a strained left oblique but picked up his seventh victory of the season with a workmanlike five-inning start.

The Brewers were holding onto a slim 3-1 lead in the seventh when Aguilar put the game out of reach.

The at-bat before Aguilar's was key, as Travis Shaw hustled down the line on a grounder and appeared to just beat D.J. LeMahieu's throw to first. He was called out by umpire Nic Lentz, but the call was overturned after the Brewers challenged, bringing Aguilar to the plate.

Having already homered to tie the game at 1-1 in the second, he turned around a 96-mph Tyler Chatwood fastball for a 441-foot shot to left to give the Brewers valuable breathing room at 5-1.

"That was huge," manager Craig Counsell said of the inning. "We get a reliever and then Aggie hits the first pitch out. He drove the bus again today. Two days in a row, three homers in the last two days, and a big start for him filling in."

Aguilar saw six sliders in his at-bat against Rockies all-star closer Greg Holland on Saturday night, capping it with his two-out, two-run homer 449 feet to straightaway center.

The two-homer game was the second of Aguilar's career and first since July 7, when he slugged a pair to beat the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He's up to 14 homers now on the season to go along with a .270 average.

"I just try to worry about the days I’m playing, doing my routine and paying attention to the situations and the pitchers," Aguilar said when asked about making the most of his sometimes sporadic playing time.

"Just be ready whenever Counsell needs me."

Eric Sogard added an RBI groundout in the eighth and Keon Broxton a two-RBI single in the ninth to cap the scoring for the Brewers.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 8, Rockies 4

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Those runs proved big as Colorado scored three times in the final two innings, leaving Counsell to turn to closer Corey Knebel to record the final out and his 26th save of the season.

"Obviously, those two runs Keon brought in, they’re big," said Counsell, whose team is now 2 1/2 games behind Arizona for the second wild card. "That’s how it is here. It’s 27 outs and the score doesn’t matter, and you feel like it’s hard to get them. The add-on runs are huge, and we did a good job today with add-on runs."

Anderson, making his first start since June 28, labored through both the first and third innings by walking three batters and hitting two more. But he managed to hold the Rockies to just a single run, on a sacrifice fly to left in the first by Mark Reynolds.

The game remained deadlocked until the fifth, when Ryan Braun's bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep center scored Orlando Arcia to put the Brewers ahead to stay at 2-1.

Anderson breezed through the bottom of the frame on just seven pitches and was sitting at 73 for the game when he was pulled with two outs in the sixth and his spot due up in the order.

With Broxton and Arcia both on base after drawing walks,  Counsell called on Neil Walker. Rockies manager Bud Black went to another left-hander in Chris Rusin, and the switch-hitter responded by singling to right to plate Broxton and increase Milwaukee's lead to 3-1.

Anderson (7-2) exited having allowed two hits and three walks to go along with four strikeouts and the two hit batters.

"We got the win. That’s what matters the most," said Anderson. "First couple innings I felt like I was trying to force it and trying to feel out my mechanics. But the last three innings I pitched I felt better and if my spot hadn’t come up I probably would have gone back out there for the sixth inning."

"I was feeling really good by then. But Neil picked us up with a great base hit, it scored a run and that’s what happens in the National League."

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

» Teams can expand their rosters beginning Sept. 1, but the Brewers haven't determined who might be called up. Among the certainties will be Brandon Woodruff and Brett Phillips at Class AAA Colorado Springs, although the Sky Sox are pushing toward their first Pacific Coast League playoff berth since 1997.

"It’s part of the equation," Counsell said of supplementing the roster. "The most critical part is these guys playing every day and these guys taking the mound (for the Brewers currently).

"The discussions are approaching. Ten days out is way too soon to figure out who it is. So much can happen down there and up here. I can guarantee you we’ll add pitching and I can guarantee we’ll add some position players."

STAT SHEET

» While he started Sunday, Aguilar is batting .304 with three homers and 10 RBI as a pinch-hitter this season. He was tied for the major-league lead in pinch-hit homers, tied for second in pinch-hit RBI and ranked third in pinch-hits with 14 coming into Sunday.

The three pinch-hit homers are also tied for second-most in a single season in franchise history with Gabe Gross (2006). Bob Hamelin hit four in 1998 to set the record. 

» Knebel set a Brewers record for strikeouts by a reliever with 99.

TAKEAWAY

Give the Brewers credit. They found a way to grind out a pair of tough victories against a solid Rockies team in a venue in which they have traditionally struggled to play well. The pitching held up overall, and the offense – led by Aguilar – delivered just enough to send the team to San Francisco with one series victory in hand.

RECORD

This year: 65-60 (35-30 home; 30-30 away)

Last year: 55-70

NEXT GAME

Monday: Brewers at Giants, 9:15 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (14-6, 4.26) vs. San Francisco RHP Chris Stratton (1-2, 4.91). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.