In a tense ninth inning, Brewers had to overcome umpire's strike zone as well as Arizona

Tom Haudricourt
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Brewers weren't sure who presented the biggest challenge to their 1-0 lead in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Miller Park -- home plate umpire Angel Hernandez or Arizona's hitters, who have struggled to produce in recent weeks.

In the end, the Brewers overcame both for a tense 1-0 victory which left them more than a bit fired up.

Before closer Corey Knebel could be credited with a save, he had to be saved by his manager, who ran a 60-yard dash that would have been admired at the NFL combine.

Asked after the game if Craig Counsell saved him from being ejected by Hernandez, Knebel said, "He did. I went in there and thanked him. If it wasn't for him and his incredible speed, it could have been a different situation."

The Brewers' irritation began in the eighth inning, when they felt Hernandez began to squeeze the strike zone for reliever Josh Hader, who issued a leadoff walk to the speedy Jarrod Dyson. Catcher Manny Pina came to the rescue that time, throwing out Dyson to give Hader a clean slate.

"It happens; we're all human," said Hader, who continued his dream season with two more shutout innings. "In a moment like that, it's tough to miss those calls. But, obviously, I have to make my pitch, too. Manny got him out at second, which was huge.

"We have our hearts in these games. That's how much it means to us."

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The Brewers let those calls slide but felt it got to a ridiculous level in the ninth inning, with Jake Lamb leading off the inning. Knebel and Pina thought a 2-2 pitch caught enough of the outside corner to be called a strike, but Hernandez called it ball three.

"He was calling it (a strike) the whole game," Pina said. "He called it a ball. In the last inning, I don't know what happened. I said to him, 'Hey, man, what's going on? That pitch was a strike.' He said, 'No, that pitch was outside.'"

After the count got to 3-2, Knebel threw a pitch that caught plenty of the strike zone, only to have it called ball four. 

"The next pitch was down the middle. He called it a ball again. I said, 'Why don't you call that a strike?"  He said, 'Stop yelling at me. If you keep doing it, I'm going to throw you out.' So, I was quiet. I wanted to finish the game."

Knebel, however, walked toward the plate, arms extended, openly questioning the call by Hernandez. Realizing his closer was about to get tossed, Counsell ran from the dugout to get between Knebel and the umpire, drawing the ejection instead.

"I was happy with how fast I got out there for a 47-year-old," Counsell said. "(Third base coach) Eddie (Sedar) said he should have given me the green light more (as a player).

"I didn't have any problems the first seven innings; no issues. He missed some calls in the eighth inning, I thought, that were important pitches. In the ninth inning, I thought he missed two pitches. But it's more about protecting Corey and Manny. That's the most important thing there. They have a more important job than I do at that point.

"I'm proud of how our guys pitched. They kept throwing strikes and making pitches. You're going to run into situations like that. You hope it's not a lot. But I'm really happy with how our guys kept making pitches. It's a good learning lesson for them. When the emotions get higher and the tensions get higher, and you want pitches that much more, you've got to be ready emotionally to handle not getting what you want."

Pina again came to the rescue, throwing out pinch-runner Nick Ahmed trying to steal second. Paul Goldschmidt then took a curveball for strike three and Daniel Descalso grounded out to first, sealing the Brewers' ninth victory in 12 games. 

Arizona, despite the questionable walks, fell for the 12th time in 13 games.

"'Couns' got out there fast," Pina said of his manager's spring. "That was good for him. I think if he don't get out there, maybe I get thrown out or Corey gets thrown out." 

It was that kind of night at Miller Park. The only run of the game scored in the sixth when Arizona brought in a lefty to face right-handed-hitting Doming Santana, who used to destroy southpaws (.937 OPS in 2016; .893 in 2017). This year, with no explanation, Santana was 4-for-41 (.098) against them. 

"I feel like they know I’m very good against them, so they have been ‘nibbling’ me," Santana said. "I just have to make sure I get a good pitch to hit. The same thing with righties, too."

Santana, who was robbed of a three-run homer in the fourth by Dyson's leaping grab against the center-field wall, lined the first pitch from Jorge De La Rosa, an old Brewer, to deep left for a sacrifice fly that delivered the only run of the game. After starter Jhoulys Chacin battled through five shutout innings without his best stuff, the bullpen did what it has throughout the season, protecting the lead.

Of the tense moments with Hernandez before he regrouped and recorded his second save in two nights, Knebel said, "Right when I threw my hands up, I realized it was stupid and said, 'Don't do this. You can't be t thrown out of the game right now.'

"It was a heated situation but luckily 'Couns' came out and got tossed. I turned around and everyone came up and kind of calmed me and Manny down. We were both kind of heated. We got the win and we get to move on.

"It happens. You can't control it. He saw something different from what I saw, and what Manny caught. You can't take it back, but it happens. Right there, 1-0, last inning, guy on first now rather than one out, it could have been a different ball game. Luckily, it wasn't."