On a Memorial Day afternoon game in Milwaukee, the Brewers needed a strong day from their pitching staff. They got it, and the Brewers took a 3-2 win on the holiday despite a late Red Sox rally.
Chad Patrick started this afternoon and came out strong, putting together a 1-2-3 inning in the first. Garrett Crochet started the game for the Red Sox, but Jackson Chourio gave the Brewers an immediate lead. On the first pitch he saw, he hit it deep into the Brewers’ bullpen, and the Brewers had a 1-0 lead.
From there, Crochet settled in. Isaac Collins and William Contreras struck out. Rhys Hoskins singled to give the Brewers a two-out baserunner, but Daz Cameron popped out to end the inning.
Patrick would get himself into some trouble in the second. Back-to-back singles by Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer put runners at the corners with one out. Patrick stranded them there as Trevor Story popped out and Abraham Toro grounded out to end the inning. Meanwhile, the Brewers went down in order in the bottom of the second.
The Red Sox tried to strike again in the third. Jarren Duran drew a walk, then stole second. Rafael Devers also drew a walk. Once again, Patrick got back on track. He struck out Carlos Narváez, then got Kristian Campbell to ground out, with Andruw Monasterio throwing to Hoskins for the out.
In the bottom of the third, the Brewers tried to put together some two-out offense. Collins singled to second, then Contreras drew a walk to put a runner in scoring position. They would be stranded there as Hoskins struck out to end the inning.
The fourth inning was much calmer as both teams went down in order for a quick inning. The fifth inning started similarly, with Patrick striking out Toro and David Hamilton. Patrick couldn’t finish the inning as Duran hit a two-out double. Even though Patrick was only at 79 pitches, Pat Murphy decided to pull Patrick from the game with Devers at the plate. Patrick’s day finished at 4 2⁄3 innings with just three hits and two walks allowed. He also struck out six.
DL Hall, activated from the injured list today, entered the game to face Devers. The move was a good one, and he needed just two pitches to get Devers to ground out. The offense gave Hall some breathing room as a reward. Back-to-back doubles from Ortiz and Monasterio started the inning, extending the lead to 2-0.
Hall remained in the game for the sixth inning. He allowed a one-out single to Kristian Campbell, but that was it in the inning. He had some assistance from Joey Ortiz there, who made a diving catch to rob Marcelo Mayer of a hit and end the inning.
Once again, the Brewers went down in order in the sixth, though not without some concern. Daz Cameron fouled a ball off his knee during his at-bat. He remained in the game and finished the at-bat with a pop-up to second. After the inning, Sal Frelick replaced Cameron in right field. There wasn’t an immediate report available on Cameron’s status, and it could have just been a defensive move in a 2-0 game.
Hall faced some more trouble in the top of the seventh. Story led off the inning with a single. Toro grounded out, with Durbin throwing to Monasterio at second but unable to get a double play. The Red Sox pinch-hit for Hamilton with Rob Refsnyder, who drew a walk. That’s all they got, as Hall got Duran to ground into a double play, and Hall escaped the inning with the game still at 2-0.
Crochet would finally leave the game in the seventh. Haase and Ortiz struck out to start the inning, but Crochet would be pulled after Monasterio drew a walk (who would be pulled for pinch-runner Brice Turang). Crochet finished the day with 6 2⁄3 innings pitched and two runs allowed. He also allowed five hits, two walks, and struck out 11 batters. Garrett Whitlock entered in relief and got a first-pitch pop-out from Chourio to end the inning.
The Brewers started the eighth with Hall still in the game and Abner Uribe warming up. Hall faced Devers, but he reached via a walk. Hall was pulled there after 2 1⁄3 innings pitched. He allowed two hits and two walks, and was responsible for Devers at first.
Uribe entered the game and was greeted with an incredibly tight strike zone. Two of his first four pitches were called balls but should have been strikes. It led to a single by Narváez that moved Devers to third, and Uribe was very angry. Campbell followed that with a ground out to Durbin. While Durbin might have been able to get Devers at home, he went for the double-play attempt instead and threw to Turang. He only got pinch-runner Conner Wong at second, with Campbell safe at first.
Haase went out to calm down Uribe, which seemed to work. Uribe got Abreu to ground out, with Ortiz covering second before throwing to Hoskins for a double play. The Brewers escaped the inning at 2-1, though Uribe was still not happy.
Needing a little insurance, the Brewers got it in the bottom of the eighth. Contreras started it off with a one-out walk. Frelick came up for his first at-bat with two outs and hit a single to center that moved Contreras to third. Frelick then stole second with Durbin at the plate. Durbin would eventually draw a walk to load the bases. Haase got them the insurance they needed. He spiked a ball in the dirt that rolled slowly to third. With Mayer playing behind third, he could not get to it fast enough, and everyone was safe. That boosted the lead to 3-1. Ortiz almost added on a few more runs with a line drive to right, but Abreu made a sliding catch to end the inning.
Trevor Megill, pitching for the fifth time in eight games, entered for the save. However, the broadcast quickly picked up that something was off with Megill, as he had several small blood streaks on his pants. He was wiping some blood off, though it wasn’t clear where he was bleeding.
Whatever the issue was, Megill pitched through it. He started with an eight-pitch at-bat to Mayer that ended with a groundout to first. Story drew a one-out walk, then Toro grounded out to first. It might have been a double-play ball, but Hoskins chose to take the sure out at first. Megill then walked Refsnyder with two outs, who was pulled for pinch-runner Ceddanne Rafaela. With the top of the order up, Duran singled to right. Frelick played it on the hop, and Story scored with Rafaela making it to third as the tying run.
Devers came up with runners at first and second. However, with Wong in the game in place of Narváez, the Brewers opted to intentionally walk Devers to face Wong. That loaded the bases, but it was the correct call. After falling behind in the count, Megill threw a few strikes, and Wong ultimately flew out to Frelick in right, ending the game and securing the 3-2 win.
It was a mostly balanced day for the offense. They combined for seven hits, though no batter had a multi-hit day. Contreras went hitless but had two walks, and Monasterio reached base twice with a hit and a walk. They went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base, but that was better than the Red Sox, who went 1-for-9 with RISP and left 10 on base.
The Brewers are back in action tomorrow night as they play game two against the Red Sox. Aaron Civale will make his second start since returning from the IL. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have not announced their starter yet, but Cooper Criswell is projected to make the start. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT, and it will be on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.