Brewers 15, Nationals 14 (14): Eric Thames' two-run blast finally settles crazy, see-saw affair
Tom HaudricourtWASHINGTON – It was a game in which no lead was safe. Until the last one.
Eric Thames finally settled the craziest see-saw game you'll ever see in the 14th inning early Sunday morning, blasting a two-run homer that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 15-14 victory over the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Thames' decisive blast was the seventh home run of the game for the Brewers, including two apiece from Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun.
Before finally settling the game in the 14th, the Brewers blew leads of 5-0, 8-5, 12-11 and 13-12 as the Nationals kept coming at them. The Brewers also trailed by three runs entering the ninth, so they showed no quit, either.
BOX SCORE: Brewers 15, Nationals 14
Yelich's second homer came in the 13th inning and put the Brewers on top, 13-12, but the Nationals answered in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Victor Robles. Javy Guerra, who entered the game in the 12th, was Washington's last reliever and had to go the rest of the way, surrendering Thames' two-run blast in the 14th.
But the game wasn't over yet. The Nationals scored a run on a two-out error by second baseman Keston Hiura in the bottom of the inning and had the potential tying run on third when Junior Guerra struck out Joe Ross, a pitcher who was pinch-hitting, to end the game.
At various points of the ninth, the Brewers appeared to have won and lost the game. Down, 11-8, entering that inning, they took a one-run lead in a span of four batters as Yelich led off with a homer, Hiura doubled, Mike Moustakas tied it with a two-run shot and Braun put the Brewers on top with his second home run of the game.
All of those blows came against Washington closer Sean Doolittle, who was booed off the field by the home fans after the stunning turnabout. But the struggles of Brewers closer Josh Hader continued in the bottom of the inning.
Hader, who hadn't pitched since giving up a decisive three-run homer to Minnesota's Marwin Gonzalez on Tuesday, walked Yan Gomes, then surrendered a double to Kurt Suzuki. Robles punched a single to right to send in the tying run, scampering to second on the throw home. The Brewers walked Howie Kendrick intentionally to load the bases with no outs, bringing up the top of the Washington order.
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With no margin for error, Hader struck out Trea Turner, winning an eight-pitch battle, then also whiffed Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon, the Nationals' best hitter, to keep the game at 12-12. It took Hader 27 pitches to record three outs, blowing his fourth save in the last five chances in the process.
The Brewers have had trouble producing hits with runners in scoring position throughout the season but had no such issues in the third inning, when they rallied for five runs. It started with a one-out walk to Lyles by Anibal Sanchez.
Trent Grisham followed with another walk and Yasmani Grandal singled through the right side to load the bases and set up a series of big hits. Yelich delivered the first, a two-run single to right. After Yelich stole second, Hiura banged a double into the left-field corner, sending home two more runs, and Moustakas capped the rally with an RBI single to right.
Moustakas’ single was the fourth consecutive hit with a runner in scoring position (Grandal’s did not score a run), not too shabby for a team that ranked last in the league (.243 batting average) in that department. But the 5-0 lead would not last for long.
Juan Soto got two runs back when he won an eight-pitch battle with Lyles in the bottom of the inning, driving an opposite-field homer out to left. Eaton completed the quick comeback with another swing of the bat, ripping a hanging 1-1 slider from Lyles out to right for a three-run homer with two down in the fourth to make it 5-5.
That would be the last inning for Lyles, who allowed seven hits, three walks and the five runs. It was his fourth start since coming in a trade with Pittsburgh and his first poor one after going 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in the first three.
The Brewers went back to work to build another lead. Braun’s opposite-field homer in the fifth – originally ruled a double but changed on video replay – and Grisham’s two-run shot to center in the sixth off lefty Matt Grace made an 8-5 game.
Again, the lead was short-lived. Freddy Peralta took over in the sixth and didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced, allowing two doubles, a walk and three-run homer by Turner. Just like that, the Nationals had a 9-8 lead.
The Nationals increased their lead to 11-8 with yet another home run, a two-run shot to center in the seventh by Kendrick off Ray Black. That seemingly safe lead did not make it through the remarkable ninth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Kang talks continue: The Brewers continued to negotiate with the agent for infielder Jung Ho Kang on a minor-league contract but president of baseball operations David Stearns wasn’t sure if it would happen. “We’re exploring a minor-league contract with him. In order to do so, we have to work through visa protocols,” Stearns said. “I don’t know whether that will be resolved during the minor-league season. Right now, we don’t know.” Kang, who was released by Pittsburgh, has had a troubled life off the field, including three reported drunk-driving charges in his native South Korea and sexual assault claim in the States in 2016 in which no charges were brought because the woman declined to cooperate with police. Asked about those incidents, Stearns said, “We certainly did our work on it, and are doing our work on it. If at some point we do sign him, it would be because we’re comfortable with what we learned.”
Suter, Nelson show progress: The Brewers have been pleased with the way left-hander Brent Suter (Tommy John surgery) and right-hander Jimmy Nelson have thrown the ball while on minor-league rehab stints. At this point, it’s expected that both will be activated when rosters can be expanded in September. “Brent is making nice progress in his rehab outings,” Stearns said. “It’s reasonable to expect he can contribute for us at some point this year. I think Jimmy is throwing the ball well. That’s encouraging. We need that to continue. That’s a big part of this – the recovery. We have positive signs there.”
Arcia making the plays: Shortstop Orlando Arcia played his 43rd consecutive game without committing an error, breaking a tie with Royce Clayton (2003) for the second-longest streak at that position in club history. Mark Loretta holds the franchise mark with 59 consecutive errorless games at short during a single season (2000) and overall with 63 (2000-’01).
Outs on the bases: The Brewers made two outs on the bases in the first two innings. Grandal was caught not paying attention by Sanchez and picked off first base after a one-out single in the first. Moustakas singled to center to open the second inning but was thrown out by centerfielder Victor Robles trying to stretch it to a double.
RECORD
This year: 64-59
Last year: 68-55
COMING UP
Sunday: Brewers at Nationals, 12:35 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (5-2, 3.78) vs. Washington RHP Erick Fedde (3-2, 4.09). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.