Brewers 6, Giants 3: Schoop's grand slam is a knockout punch to Bumgarner, Giants
Fired up by Madison Bumgarner's plunking of Ryan Braun and the subsequent ejection of manager Craig Counsell, Jonathan Schoop picked the perfect time to deliver the knockout blow for the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon.
The first batter up after all the commotion, Schoop responded by socking a grand slam to left field that electrified the crowd and delivered the Brewers a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park.
Schoop added an RBI fielder's choice in the eighth for some insurance and finished with five runs batted in for the Brewers, who swept their first series since July 2-4 against the Minnesota Twins.
"We had a great homestand. We took five out of six on a homestand," Counsell said. "We pitched very well all homestand – that’s the thing that sticks out for me, is just how well we pitched all homestand.
"We’re racking up wins. That’s the main thing."
The Brewers also maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card standings while cutting the Chicago Cubs' lead in the Central Division to two games with a three-game series at Wrigley Field beginning Monday.
At 82-62, Milwaukee is now 20 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2011 season 96-66.
"It means we’ve played good baseball for most of the season," Braun said. "We’ve put ourselves in a good position, a position you want to be in coming down the stretch."
"It’s a good place to be. You want to play meaningful games this time of year."
BOX SCORE: Brewers 6, Giants 3
ANALYSIS:Patience finally pays off for Jonathan Schoop
NOTES:Jeremy Jeffress third Brewer with double-digit saves this season
MLB: Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics
Bumgarner was sailing along with a 2-1 lead and having retired 15 consecutive batters when he issued a two-out walk to Christian Yelich.
Things quickly went off the rails from there for the veteran left-hander.
Jesús Aguilar followed with a single to right to bring up Braun, who'd driven in the Brewers' only run to that point with a first-inning double.
Bumgarner's first pitch to Braun was up and in, forcing Braun to bail out of the batter's box backwards with his momentum carrying him up the third-base line a few steps. Two pitches later Bumgarner came inside again on Braun, and this time he plunked him.
Braun made his way slowly to first base as catcher Nick Hundley walked alongside him so as to keep Braun from charging the mound, and not long thereafter the Brewers' dugout began to empty as did both bullpens.
"Especially when you play a day game here and it’s really hard to see anything that’s at your face…it’s just real uncomfortable," said Braun. "I had a real long at-bat my second at-bat, flew out, took a pretty good swing.
"I jogged by him and I think maybe he thought I said something that I didn’t say. I told him good pitch, good battle something like that, and maybe he misunderstood me. I don’t know."
Order was quickly restored, but as Schoop settled into the box, home-plate umpire Tom Hallion ejected Counsell. The two then had a heated and lengthy exchange near home plate before Counsell finally left the field.
In the wake of that dust-up, pitcher Wade Miley – Monday's starter against the Chicago Cubs – and catcher Jacob Nottingham were also ejected from the game.
While Bumgarner and Giants manager Bruce Bochy said afterward that the intention was only to pitch Braun inside, Counsell left no doubt he thought Bumgarner was throwing at Braun.
"The first pitch was at his face," he said. "There was a little conversation between Bumgarner and Braun, then the next pitch is inside and the next pitch he gets hit. If they’re trying to pitch around him, just put him on."
Once play finally resumed, Schoop got ahead of Bumgarner, 2-1, before going down and golfing an 85-mph cutter out to left.
The shot sent both the crowd and the Brewers into a frenzy, with most of the players emptying onto the warning track in front of the dugout to greet Schoop before being shooed back into the dugout by first-base umpire Phil Cuzzi.
It was the fourth grand slam of the season for the Brewers, and their first since Sept. 2 when Yelich hit one in Washington.
“I think I was just getting (back to my office)," Counsell said. "I gave a couple of high fives. I heard the dugout went pretty crazy. A bunch of guys on the field enjoying the moment.
"It was a great moment, man.”
San Francisco pulled to within 5-3 in the eighth on an RBI triple by Austin Slater off Joakim Soria, who then was replaced by Corey Knebel.
Having pitched 1 1/3 innings a night earlier, Knebel had no issues finishing the game off. He retired all four batters he faced to pick up his 15th save.
The Giants took their first lead of the series five pitches into the game when Gregor Blanco drilled a 90-mph fastball from starter Zach Davies out to right in a 1-2 count.
The Brewers got that run back quickly in the bottom of the frame when Lorenzo Cain singled to lead off and Braun hit a two-out double off the top of the wall in left-center.
San Francisco went back in front in the fifth on a bases-loaded Blanco sacrifice fly, and after escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam Davies' day was finished. He allowed six hits and a walk with two strikeouts over 73 pitches.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
MOVING ON: The Biloxi Shuckers, the Brewers' Class AA affiliate, advanced to the Southern League championship game after beating Pensacola, 9-1, on Saturday night. Right-hander Marcos Diplan struck out 10 in six innings and second baseman Keston Hiura drove in six runs with a homer and a bases-clearing double. Biloxi will travel to face the North Division champion – either Jackson or Montgomery – for Games 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday, then host Games 3-5.
WELCOME BACK: The Brewers officially recalled right-handers Freddy Peralta and Taylor Williams from Class AAA Colorado Springs before the game. Those moves give manager Craig Counsell 14 relievers, with Williams' 2.45 earned run average against right-handed hitters possibly carving out a niche role for him for the remainder of the season.
ON AND ON: With his sixth-inning walk, Yelich extended his streak of games in which he's reached base to 25. That's the longest active streak in the National League and the second-longest in the major leagues behind Alex Bregman (35 coming into Sunday).
HEADS UP: Players losing a grip on their bats isn't altogether uncommon, but Hernán Pérez took it to a whole new level in the fifth inning. Shortly before striking out against Bumgarner, Pérez accidentally let go of his bat and it sailed all the way into short left field. Third baseman Evan Longoria took cover, and the bat took a big divot out of the turf.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: Right-hander Jorge López, traded to Kansas City along with Brett Phillips for Mike Moustakas on July 27, flirted with a perfect game for the Royals on Saturday night. He allowed no baserunners through eight innings only to walk Max Kepler to start the ninth and then allowed a single to Robbie Grossman, ending his night. López is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in five starts for the Royals.
RECORD
This year: 82-62
Last year: 75-69
ATTENDANCE
Sunday: 35,388
This year: 2,513,763 (34,913 avg.)
Last year: 2,253,707(31,301 avg.)
COMING UP
Monday: Brewers at Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (3-2, 2.12) vs. Chicago LHP Jon Lester (15-5, 3.53). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.