HOUSTON – Good fortune was not on the side of the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon, May 30.
A lost replay challenge in the second inning cost them three runs and Andrew Vaughn’s drop of a line drive at first base opened the door for three more runs to cross the plate in an eventual 9-2 loss to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park.
Starter Brandon Sproat lasted only 4 ⅓ innings in his latest subpar start – although, as noted, there were extenuating circumstances – and then Carlos Rodriguez and Jake Woodford combined to allow three more runs out of the bullpen the rest of the way.
Andrew Vaughn had two hits for the Brewers, who managed just six on the day.
“We can’t give up nine runs in a game and expect to win,” manager Pat Murphy said. “Our offense wasn’t very good.
“We had opportunities. Tough call at the plate. I think the video evidence is pretty clear – we felt like he was out (at home in the third) and the call stands, we still don’t understand it.
“But that happens.
Things get out of hand
Rodriguez retired the first two batters in the bottom of the eighth then surrendered a single and a walk to bring Christian Walker to the plate.
Woodford replaced Rodriguez at that point and Walker went the other way on the right-hander’s fourth offering after he fell behind in the count, 3-0, and sent a three-run homer out to right to blow the game open.
Milwaukee inches closer…briefly
Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich sandwiched walks around a pair of flyouts, then Jackson Chourio singled to center to drive in Mitchell and narrow the gap to 3-2.
Brice Turang drew the third free pass from Lambert after that to load the bases, but William Contreras grounded out.
Sproat, meanwhile, allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the frame and then hit Walker two batters later to end his day at 95 pitches. It marked the third straight start Sproat failed to complete five innings, and five of six.
With Rodriguez in the game, Taylor Trammell pulled a line drive down the first-base line that Vaughn should have gloved and just stepped on the bag for an inning-ending double play.
Instead, the ball clanked off his glove as Jeremy Peña came around to score. An Isaac Paredes double followed, leaving Milwaukee in a 6-2 hole.
The Brewers bullpen had entered the game with a 20-inning scoreless streak.
Sproat allowed six hits and five runs with four strikeouts over 95 pitches.
Astros quickly grab the lead
Cam Smith singled to open the bottom of the second, moved up to second on a grounder to third and then came racing home on a single by Jake Meyers with Jake Bauers, making his first start of the season in right field, threw home strongly and accurately.
Smith slid in safely but the Brewers challenged, and replay appeared to show Contreras tagged Smith before he crossed the plate but after a lengthy review the safe call stood.
And that was big, because instead of Sproat being out of the inning a batter later after a flyout by Christian Vázquez, leadoff batter Peña got a chance at the plate and slugged a two-run home run to left to leave the Brewers in a 3-1 hole.
Another first-inning lead for the Brewers
Yelich blooped a single to short left field to start the game and exchanged places at first base with Turang after he grounded into a forceout.
Contreras followed with a two-out double to the gap in left-center, which allowed Turang to scamper all the way home from first and give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
The Brewers have outscored their opponents, 41-19, in the opening frame so far this season.
Houston threatened in the bottom of the frame when Chourio misplayed Yordan Alvarez’s drive to left-center and Sproat later hit Trammell, but with two outs Paredes grounded weakly to first base.
Brewers record
34-21, first place in National League Central.
Brewers lineupAstros lineupBrewers schedule, probable pitchers
Brewers vs Astros, May 31, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (5-2, 1.83) vs. Houston RHP Tatsuya Imai (2-2, 6.17). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Astros 9, Brewers 2: Milwaukee catches no breaks in blowout defeat