Trio of relievers keep the Dodgers off the board and keep Josh Hader in the bullpen
None of them was going to record an official save in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on Friday, but Milwaukee’s three bullpen hammers who saw action against the Dodgers did conspire for one of the bigger saves of the series – their teammate.
Left-hander Josh Hader warmed up but never entered Milwaukee’s 7-2 win, meaning he’ll be well rested for Saturday’s Game 7 with a spot in the World Series on the line. It's a huge development with so much attention on Milwaukee's hesitance to use Hader on back-to-back days, particularly for prolonged outings.
Corey Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress and Corbin Burnes combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner on a hit-by-pitch.
Perhaps the biggest outs came from the rookie Burnes, who needed just 24 pitches to cross out the game’s final six batters. When he retired Justin Turner and Manny Machado to start the eighth, Brewers manager Craig Counsell felt comfortable leaving Burnes in to face left-handed slugger Cody Bellinger.
“If anybody got on, I think Josh would have had Bellinger,” Counsell said. “So Corbin did (get the outs), goes six up and six down, and that’s what keeps Josh out of the game. In addition, we tacked on some runs and gave him some space in the ninth to keep going.”
Solo insurance runs in the seventh and eighth indeed made the bullpen decisions easier, as did Burnes himself, retiring Bellinger with a flyout and striking out Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig in the ninth before Matt Kemp popped out in foul territory to end the game.
“I just wanted to go out and attack Turner and Machado,” Burnes said. “If they want to bring in Hader, obviously that’s up to Counsell, but I just wanted to go out and attack those guys.”
Burnes, a midseason callup drafted out of St. Mary’s (Calif.) College in 2016, has been a valuable asset in what might be his final appearances before returning to a starter's role next year.
“It was pretty awesome to be given the opportunity to come up and join this team,” Burnes said. “It was a great group of guys and was fortunate to come up and join a great bullpen. They helped me the whole way, guiding me through, giving me advice. To be in this spot, playing in the World Series, basically, is pretty special. I can’t wait to see what the atmosphere is like tomorrow.”
Knebel offers comedic relief
Corey Knebel recorded the final two outs of the fifth inning after starter Wade Miley departed, but for the Brewers to use Knebel again in the sixth, it required an at-bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth.
Knebel whiffed against Alex Wood, taking an awkward final swing, for his first at-bat since he was playing high-school baseball in 2010.
“I mean, I was a pretty good hitter (then),” Knebel said. “It was a lot of fun tonight, getting into the box. It was a good feeling, even though my hands were shaking.”
Those hands were shaking inside Hernan Perez's batting gloves while wielding Orlando Arcia's bat. He was also wearing Perez's helmet. The decision to keep him in paid off when Knebel worked a scoreless sixth.
The well-documented dominance of Knebel following a late-season assignment to the minor leagues continued.
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“That’s our motto down there: 'Anybody, anywhere, anytime,'” Knebel said. “We’ll be ready to go. You go as long as you can for as hard as you can; that’s our job.”
Jeffress gets his groove back
Knebel ceded the mound to Jeffress, whose up-and-down outings in the playoffs have been one of the Brewers' central story lines. But Jeffress logged a 1-2-3 seventh, capping it with a strikeout of Max Muncy, and needed just 13 pitches to do it.
“I think it was big (to have) that day off yesterday,” Jeffress said. “We slept in our own beds, we got sleep. … It meant a lot for us to save Hader, definitely, and get this win today.”
Jeffress entered the game having allowed 13 hits in 6 2/3 innings in the postseason, with four earned runs allowed and nine strikeouts. It was his first spotless outing of the postseason.
Jeffress, in his third stint with the Brewers organization, knows as well as anyone how strongly the Milwaukee fan base will get behind its team. Friday was a good demonstration.
“They know what type of team we are, what we’re capable of. It means a lot to us to see that they’re behind us all the way, no matter what," he said. "Tonight was just so loud; I thought they were going to open the roof. I can only imagine what tomorrow’s going to be feel like. …To have Game 7 in our house is probably the biggest advantage we’re going to have. We’re going to try to use it to our advantage and play our game.”