George Webb hands out free burgers for Brewers 12 game win streak
For the third time, George Webb hands out free burgers as Brewers win 12 straight games.
Willy Adames did his best to steal the show.
The night, however, belonged to his old pal.
On an evening when Adames returned to his old stomping grounds and hit two home runs in front of a sellout crowd of 41,716 that turned its initial cheers into boos toward the beloved Milwaukee shortstop, it was his old locker mate, William Contreras, who had the final swing — and the last laugh, too.
Contreras hit the first walk-off home run of his career, sending a 1-0 slider from San Francisco Giants reliever Randy Rodriguez over the left-field fence with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to send the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 win.
“(Willy) started to tick me off a little bit,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who was Adames’ bench coach for three years and skipper last season. “But, William didn’t want to be forgotten in this thing.”
BOX SCORE: Brewers 5, Giants 4
Up until Contreras put an end to the endeavor, it was a night littered with frustration for the Brewers.
First, Adames sent the first pitch he saw at American Family Field since signing a seven-year, $182 million deal in the off-season for a solo shot in the top of the first off Brewers starter José Quintana, then added another blast in the eighth.
“Did you expect anything less?” said Brewers closer Trevor Megill. “I don’t. That’s the player he was for us when he was here. That’s the player they paid him to be over there.”
The Brewers offense, which could use some of Adames’ power but hasn’t lacked for its own punch in his absence this year, rallied from a 2-0 deficit in its typical fashion by scratching out a pair of two-run rallies, with Contreras delivered the big hit with a go-ahead double in the seventh.
But Adames went deep again in the eighth and the Giants rallied to tie it in the ninth against Megill, who had blown three saves all year until Aug. 16 but now has two in the last seven days.
Yet with their latest comeback win, after beginning the season 2-20 when the opponent scores first, the Brewers have since gone 23-12 in such contests.
“We played our typical game,” Murphy said.
William Contreras soaks up first walk-off blast
The assembly of Brewers that gathered at home plate to celebrate Contreras’ big blast had to wait a few extra seconds. Contreras had a celebration to get to on the bases.
During a 33-second jaunt of joy, Contreras began by watching the ball fly up and over the head of left fielder Heliot Ramos and gently dropping his bat. What occured after the next half-minute was chaos, with the Brewers catcher enjoying every moment of his first game-ending homer with multiple self-crownings, part of his usual “King Contreras” homer celebration.
“You just kind of black out in that moment,” Contreras said. “It’s hard to even know what to do.”
Said Murphy: “It’s just great for William’s psyche. He’s been so good in so many ways fo rus. He does so much that doesn’t show up in the box score. He’s had thsee big moments lately. He’s really held through in the clutch lately.”
The swing was the latest positive sign from Contreras’ bat, which has taken immense strides forward since late July. He has slashed .320/.416/.619 with eight homers and five doubles over his last 24 games, a reminder of the Silver Slugger hitter he is when at his best — and healthiest.
“I know the finger still hurts him from time to time, but I think it’s more under control,” Murphy said. “I think he’s healthier but he’s mentally healthier too.”
Trevor Megill blows the save
After two quick outs from Megill, the Giants offense nickel-and-dimed its way to drawing even in the ninth.
Luis Matos blooped a ball into center field that got by a diving Brandon Lockridge for a double. The Brewers center fielder could have let up and kept the ball in front of him, which would have held Matos to one base, but instead went for the game-ending highlight.
“I saw it live but I didn’t see it again,” Murphy said. “I’d like to see if there’s any hesitation or whatever, but that kid’s been great. I don’t like that guy getting to second there, but you got a decision to make in that spot. If you didn’t read it right, then you probably don’t make that decision. If you read it right, you go for it.”
That extra base proved costly as a night of defensive excellence faded in the final inning.
Dominic Smith followed with a two-strike infield single that glanced off Megill’s right leg, moving Matos to third, and Megill then uncorked a wild pitch on a 98.4 mph fastball that Contreras couldn’t keep in front.
“The intention there was to go with a fastball up and missed, but that’s something that hapens,” Contreras said. “What happens, happens and you have to move on from it. Happy for Megill’s sake too that we wer able to come back and get that win for him.”
Megill recovered to strike out Patrick Bailey swinging to strand the go-ahead runner at second, then had a quick message for his backstop when they reached the dugout.
“I went into the dugout there and smacked him pretty damn hard and told him to pick me up,” Megill said. “That’s exactly what he did. That’s what good teammates do.”
Go-ahead rally embodies Brewers’ offense
The decisive frame was Brewers baseball in a nutshell. Of the six batters to come to bat, only one ball left the infield and yet they pushed across two runs to turn a 2-2 tie into what ultimately became the final.
It began painfully for Andruw Monasterio, who wore a Joey Lucchesi fastball on his elbow guard. Brice Turang then bunted for a hit to set up Contreras, who smashed a go-ahead double down the right-field line.
After the Giants put Christian Yelich on intentionally, Andrew Vaughn kept his RBI-a-game pace with a fielder’s choice grounder to first that gave him 37 runs driven in over 37 games with the Brewers.
Brewers defense shines
The tip of the cap through seven innings belonged to the Brewers defense, which kept things tied with the offense unable to engage in many fireworks.
First, it was a pair of Jumpman-type snags, even if they weren’t by Contreras, the Brewers’ lone Jordan-brand repped player.
Monasterio, expected to be the everyday shortstop while Joey Ortiz recovers from a low-grade hamstring strain that landed him on the IL Aug. 22, went up to steal a liner from Ramos ticketed for left in the third. An inning later, Vaughn similarly went airborne to snag a Bailey rocket at first base.
Turang kicked off the sixth with a spectacular ranging grab in shallow right to take a hit away from Ramos, a robbery that proved important when the Giants later loaded the bases in the inning but didn’t score.
Even iffy defense led to big things. When Contreras overthrew second base on a Luis Matos steal attempt in the seventh, flipping the ball high and wide while trying to earn an interference call on Christian Koss at the plate, Lockridge came up firing in center field to nab Matos advancing to third.
Tough at-bats to tie
A string of quality at-bats against Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt and a sprinkle of luck got the Brewers right back in the game in the fourth.
The two-run rally to tie the game at 2-2 began with a Yelich nubber down the third-base line for an infield hit, which Vaugh followed by working the count full and drawing a walk.
Sal Frelick, who had seen 12 pitches in his first at-bat against Whisenhunt, worked another two-strike count before punching a 100.8 liner to right for a run-scoring double. A wild pitch two batters later knotted the scoreboard, though Frelick was thrown out after taking too wide a turn at third, potentially harming a greater rally.
Either way, Milwaukee chased Whisenhunt after just four innings, making the rookie southpaw throw 88 pitches.
Luis Matos makes it 2-0
The Giants had two hits and, really, only two decent swings against José Quintana in the first two innings.
They both left the yard.
Following Adames’ first emotional homer in the first, Matos added another two-out solo shot an inning later. Quintana gave the Giants center fielder a meaty 3-2 sinker, which he promptly smacked just over the left-center fence despite only batting .178 coming into the day.
Quintana ultimately settled down from there, going 5 1/3 innings with some help from his defense.
Willy Adames goes from cheers to boos…twice!
The American Family Field faithful are used to seeing Willy Adames smack a ball out to left field and admire it as it flies.
This time, they just didn’t like seeing it.
In his first game back at the ballpark he called home from 2021-24, becoming a fan-favorite in the process, Adames crushed the first pitch he saw in his first at-bat out for his 21st homer of the season.
Moments prior, Adames stood near the plate as the crowd doused him with a standing ovation as a sign of appreciation for the 119 homers he hit, 348 runs he drove in and, perhaps above all, the spirit he played with during his four years with the Brewers.
Adames had gone deep 61 times at American Family Field before. But never against the Brewers.
To put a bow on his return, Adames went deep again in the top of the eighth by driving an Aaron Ashby sinker 368 feet out to right, giving him his fourth career multi-homer game in Milwaukee.
“There was a special vibe in the air, for sure,” Murphy said. “Willy was spectacular. We saw that Willy Adames trying to break out heart tonight, but we saw that Willy Adames helping us break other people’s hearts last year.”
What time is the Brewers game against the Giants?
Time: 7:10 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineupBrice Turang 2BWilliam Contreras CChristian Yelich DHAndrew Vaughn 1BSal Frelick LFCaleb Durbin 3BIsaac Collins LFBrandon Lockridge CFAndruw Monasterio SSGiants lineupHeliot Ramos LFRafael Devers 1BWilly Adames SSWilmer Flores DHCasey Schmitt 3BJung Hoo Lee CFLuis Matos CFChristian Koss 2BPatrick Bailey CBrewers schedule
Brewers vs. Giants, Aug. 23, 6:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (15-5, 2.78.) vs. San Francisco RHP Logan Webb (11-9, 3.19). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Giants, Aug. 24, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. San Francisco LHP Robbie Ray (10-6, 2.85). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.