Thirteen memorable Milwaukee Brewers walk-offs in past 10 years

Few things are sweeter for Brewers fans than Bob Uecker’s call of a walk-off home run, and those who were listening at home (or in the parking lot, having regrettably left Miller Park early to get a head start negotiating the brutal weather conditions) got a treat Tuesday night.

In rapid succession, Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun delivered back-to-back home runs with two outs and nobody on base to give the Brewers a thrilling 5-4 win over the Cardinals. Remarkably, it’s Braun’s second home run of the year with Milwaukee down to its final out. He slugged a three-run shot in the top of the ninth that gave the Brewers an uplifting 8-6 win in San Diego on Friday in the second game of the season.

Braun has delivered game-winning blasts before, but here’s a compilation of some memorable walk-off winners in the past 10 years (we won’t count this year yet, enabling us to encompass 2008, which was one wild ride).

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Shaw’s Jewel (Sept. 23, 2017)

In the thick of a pennant race, the Brewers were on the ropes for what would have been a third consecutive tough loss to the Chicago Cubs. Orlando Arcia had homered in the ninth to tie the game, only to have the Cubs re-take the lead in the 10th. But with one out, Travis Shaw belted a game-winning home run against reliable reliever Wade Davis for a 4-3 victory. The Brewers missed the playoffs by one game, but it was a must-have moment in the home stretch.

Maldy works overtime (May 31, 2015)

It’s tough business catching 17 straight innings, but Martin Maldonado did it against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with four hits to boot. It’s the last one that was memorable, a walk-off home run in the 17th against Vidal Nuno to give the Brewers a 7-6 win. Maldonado also had a game-winning RBI single earlier in May against the Cubs.

The pinch hitter (May 27, 2014)

The Brewers were out of position players against the Orioles in extra innings so reliever T.J. McFarland naturally walked Mark Reynolds with two down and nobody on in the 10th with the pitcher’s spot due up. But pinch hitter Yovani Gallardo doubled to center field (narrowly missing a home run) to drive in the winning run for a 7-6 victory in a game where the Brewers had been down to their final out in the ninth, only to tie the game when Jonathan Lucroy’s weak single against lefty bullpen ace Zach Britton plated Elian Herrera.

2013 full of ‘remember these guys?’ walk-offs

April 17, 2013: Blake Lalli hit a game-winning RBI single in the ninth to beat the Giants, 4-3.

July 21, 2013: Caleb Gindl hit a walk-off home run against Ryan Webb as the Brewers beat the Marlins in 13 innings, 1-0.

September 15, 2013: Sean Halton hit a home run against Zach Duke to beat the Reds, 6-5. Halton also drove in a run in the seventh, and the Brewers scored three in the eighth to tie.

September 27, 2013: Logan Schafer’s squeeze bunt lifted the Brewers to a 4-3 win over the Cubs.

Heartbreaking loss avoided (July 3, 2012)

The Brewers won a ridiculous 13-12 game over the Florida Marlins when Aramis Ramirez belted a two-run homer to center just beyond the reach of center fielder Scott Cousins with two down in the 10th. It was a game Milwaukee had in hand before the Marlins scored six runs in the eighth to tie and one in the 10th to take a lead. But down to their final out, the Brewers persevered thanks to the veteran third baseman.

Fly and fly again (May 20, 2011)

Prince Fielder’s dramatic two-run home run in the 14th lifted the Brewers to a 7-6 win over the Rockies. Milwaukee ceded the lead to the Rockies in the 13th, but Yuniesky Betancourt’s blast in the bottom half tied the game against closer Huston Street. Milwaukee was again down in the 14th but Fielder’s tattooed blast against Felipe Paulino scored Ryan Braun and ended one of Miller Park’s most wild victories.

Plush (June 8, 2011)

The year was full of memorable moments surrounding Nyjer Morgan (a.k.a. Tony Plush), not the least of which was a walk-off single in the 10th inning of NLDS Game 5, which sent the Brewers past the Diamondbacks and into the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s the obvious one. Even better was a walk-off double that capped a big Brewers comeback after the New York Mets took a 6-2 lead. The Mets scored five in the top half of the eighth, but the Brewers answered with four to tie the game, and Morgan’s double down the line won it. The play was made even more memorable by Plush’s postgame interview, in which he explained that he didn’t even realize it was the ninth inning.

Two shots of Coco (July 8 and July 10, 2011)

Facing former Brewers closer Francisco Cordero – who famously turned down an offer (4 years, $42 million) to stay in Milwaukee and sign with the Reds (4 years, $46 million) – the Brewers burnt the closer twice in one weekend, and Mark Kotsay was involved both times. On July 8, Milwaukee scored three in the ninth, including two after it was down to its final out. With two down, Fielder walked, Casey McGehee singled and Mark Kotsay singled to drive in the game-winning runs in an 8-7 win. Kotsay also hit a game-winning single in August against the Dodgers, and his infield hit tied the game July 10 against the Reds. Craig Counsell, the Brewers manager today, hit the game-winning single against Cordero in that one for a 4-3 win.

A complete game (May 28, 2010)

Yovani Gallardo had battled Mets ace Johan Santana all night, with both pitchers throwing zeroes on the board through eight innings. Gallardo then worked a scoreless ninth, heading to the dugout having thrown the equivalent of a complete-game shutout, but with still no score from his offense. Santana, meanwhile, left the game in favor of Ryota Igarashi, and that was good news for Milwaukee. Corey Hart’s game-winning homer with two outs gave the Brewers a 2-0 win and sealed Gallardo’s shutout as he sat in the dugout.

Joe Inglett, of course (August 6, 2010)

In a particularly improbable win, the Brewers scored four runs in the ninth to stun the Astros, 6-5. Joe Inglett delivered an unlikely two-run homer, and Prince Fielder’s two-run single with one out scored Rickie Weeks and Hart with the winning runs.

Home-opener heroes (April 10, 2009)

The Brewers scored two runs in the ninth to beat the Cubs, 4-3, in the Miller Park home opener. Rickie Weeks delivered a run-scoring double to plate Chris Duffy, and Weeks then came home on a fielder’s choice just ahead of the relay back home, sending the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

The bomb (Sept. 6, 2009)

Prince Fielder hit a walkoff home run in the 12th inning against Merkin Valdez, though the game was immortalized by what came next, a “bomb” celebration where all the players rushed out of the dugout, gathered around home plate, and fell backward as Fielder stamped on the plate. A triple play turned in the sixth inning by the Brewers was an afterthought by comparison. Fielder also hit a walk-off double against the Giants in June.

The last week of 2008

Most Brewers fans remember this period of time well, as the team made a push toward its first playoff appearance in a generation, finishing with 90 wins and the Wild Card. Most will recall the thrilling season finale featuring CC Sabathia and an eighth-inning Ryan Braun home run, but there were two other memorable final-week performances in which Milwaukee won six of its final seven games. On Sept. 23, Prince Fielder’s two-run homer against TJ Beam with two outs in the ninth beat the Pirates, 7-5, after Braun had singled with two outs. Two nights later, Braun was the one with the big swing, a memorable grand slam in the 10th with two outs to score a cornucopia of Brewers infielders (Rickie Weeks, Ray Durham, Craig Counsell) and give Milwaukee a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh.

Bonus: Plush, again (Oct. 7, 2011)

Let’s just leave this here.