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Brewers fans swarm Milwaukee George Webb’s for free burger vouchers

The Milwaukee Brewers won a 12th consecutive game triggering a George Webb promise of a free burger. Thousands claimed vouchers for the sandwich.

CINCINNATI – The Milwaukee Brewers, it turns out, actually can lose games. 

On Sunday, Aug. 17, they did so in the style that they’ve been using to ride out a franchise-record winning streak.

On the heels of two unbelievable comeback wins to begin the series at Great American Ball Park that extended the Brewers’ win streak14 games, another sprinkling of late-game magic wasn’t enough in the series finale, a 3-2 walk-off loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

William Contreras hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the top of the ninth after the offense had done nothing to that point, but the Brewers couldn’t hold it for the final three outs to extend their winning streak to 15 games. 

Box score: Reds 3, Brewers 2 (10 innings)

The Reds, who still have not been swept all season, used a gem from starter Andrew Abbott, who just slightly outdueled Milwaukee’s José Quintana in a battle of southpaws, and go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to send the Brewers to the losing column for the first time since July 30. 

The visitors, meanwhile, had the shoe on the other foot as the ones making crucial mistakes late. 

After Contreras turned the tide back to the visitors with a missile in the top half of the ninth, an error and pitching change reopened the floodgates for Cincinnati to tie the game right back. An error by Brice Turang at shortstop, where he had entered in the eighth inning, to begin the inning proved costly. After Tobias Myers got a flyout to left for the first out, manager Pat Murphy pulled him in favor of Grant Anderson with the rest of the bullpen depleted. Anderson allowed three of the next four batters to reach, including a Jose Trevino game-knotting single. 

In a scoreless top of the tenth, Andrew Vaughn was thrown out at third on Blake Perkins’ leadoff bunt attempt preceding two infield fly outs. 

Austin Hays smoked a grounder down the left-field line with the bases loaded off Anderson in the bottom half to make the Brewers’ 14-game streak history.

In their unprecedented stretch of victories since the last loss, the Brewers averaged 8.5 runs per game and also came from behind in seven of the final 11 wins. It was a far cry from both as Abbott stymied them for seven four-hit innings and their only at-bats with runners in scoring position before extra innings were the third and fifth.

William Contreras comes through, but Brewers can’t finish

What seemed destined to be the latest act of late-game heroics for the Brewers, who won eight of their last 11 games in comeback fashion, was Contreras’ first-pitch homer off Pagan in the ninth.

Anthony Seigler led off with a four-pitch, pinch-hit walk. Contreras wasn’t taking any pitches, though, to follow and smacked a 108.3 mph rope out to the second row of the seats in deep left.

Tobias Myers, who had entered for Quintana in the seventh and escaped a two-on, one-out jam, went back out for the ninth. The Brewers were hoping to stay away from their top six relievers after heavy usage against the Reds already and ahead of 16 games over the next 15 days.

Turang bobbled a chopper off the bat of Will Benson to begin the inning, which set in motion the wheels to take Myers out even though he was cruising. After Myers got Hays to pop out to left, manager Pat Murphy went to Anderson, saying after the game they were chasing a ground ball.

Anderson never got one. Noelvi Marte singled, then Trevino did the same. After catcher Danny Jansen stole a strikeout for the second out, Anderson walked Matt McClain and got TJ Friedl to pop out to send the game to extras.

There, the offense couldn’t deliver the inherited runner. The Reds did.

Pitchers’ duel through six before Quintana faltered

Offense was sparse against the pair of lefties that were on top of their games from first pitch.

Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott, who with a 2.41 ERA entering the day has been one of the National League’s best starters this year, allowed only one hit through the first four innings and made a defensive gem to help himself out in the fifth. With two on and two outs, Abbott fielded a swinging bunt from Brandon Lockridge along the first base line and made a backhand flip to first just in time for the out.

In the sixth, he struck out Andruw Monasterio and William Contreras swinging in a perfect inning to raise his punch out total to seven without a walk allowed.

Andrew Vaughn smacked the Brewers’ fourth hit of the game with a single in the seventh but was promptly erased on a double play.

Quintana, meanwhile, had more swing-and-miss than usual early to keep the Reds off the board through the first five, fanning four through the first four innings while allowing two singles.

He worked around a one-out single in the fifth and put up a three-up, three-down sixth before going back out for the seventh at 89 pitches.

That turned out to be just a bit too much exposure for Quintana against the Reds’ bats, although the length was needed from the veteran with only three relievers available. Austin Hays led off with a double tucked just inside the left-field line, moved to third when Noelvi Marte smoked a single to right and scored on Jose Trevino’s sacrifice fly to the wall in right.

Look what Caleb Durbin found

House rules on the infield dirt at Great American Ball Park was finders keepers, at least for Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin.

On Spencer Steer’s rocket to open the bottom of the sixth, Durbin went low to try and make a backhanded play on a tricky hop but instead popped the ball off the palm of his glove and straight up just behind him. Durbin located the ball in a split-second and snagged it with his bare hand before unleashing a one-hopper in time to get Steer.

What time is the Brewers game against the Reds?

Time: 12:40 p.m. CT

What channel is the Brewers game on today?

TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin

How long is the Brewers’ winning streak?

The Brewers pushed their win streak to a single-season franchise-record 14 games with a 6-5 win in extra innings August 16.

Brewers lineupAndruw Monasterio 2BCaleb Durbin 3BWilliam Contreras DHChristian Yelich LFAndrew Vaughn 1BBlake Perkins CFDanny Jansen CJoey Ortiz SSBrandon Lockridge RFReds lineupTJ Friedl CFSpencer Steer 1BElly De La Cruz SSMiguel Andujar LFAustin Hays DHNoelvi Marte RFJose Trevino CKe’Bryan Hayes 3BSantiago Espinal 2BBrewers schedule

Brewers at Cubs, Aug. 18 1:20 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (14-5, 2.90) vs. Chicago TBD. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.

Brewers at Cubs, Aug. 18 7:05 p.m.: Milwaukee TBD vs. Chicago TBD. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.

Brewers at Cubs, Aug. 19 7:05 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (4-0, 2.06) vs. Chicago TBD. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, FOX 6, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.

Brewers at Cubs, Aug. 20 7:05 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (4-1, 3.89) vs. Chicago TBD. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.

Brewers at Cubs, Aug. 21 1:20 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.48) vs. Chicago TBD. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.