It was a bad day for the Brewers’ pitching staff. After Quinn Priester was scratched with a sore right wrist, the Brewers had to put together a pitching plan to get through the day, which included signing Erick Fedde prior to the game. Though the pitching staff mostly made it work, the offense couldn’t give them the support they needed.
Aaron Ashby got the start for the Brewers and made it through the first inning without issue, striking out Corbin Carroll along the way. Meanwhile, the Brewers got a one-out single from Caleb Durbin for their first hit of the game, but he was left stranded there as William Contreras and Christian Yelich both flew out.
In the second, Ashby kept rolling with another 1-2-3 inning, adding on two more strikeouts. He only got the first two innings but retired all six batters he faced and struck out three. Meanwhile, the Brewers gave him a lead in the bottom of the inning. Andrew Vaughn and Blake Perkins started the inning with back-to-back singles (with Vaughn making it to third), and Jake Bauers grounded out to bring in Vaughn. Perkins would end up stranded at second after Brandon Lockridge and Andruw Monasterio struck out to end the inning.
Fedde made his Brewers debut in the third inning. It was a clean start for him as he got through the bottom of the Diamondbacks order for a clean inning. Meanwhile, Durbin hit his second single of the day in the bottom of the third, but Contreras grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The fourth was a similar story for Fedde. He worked another clean inning and recorded his first strikeout as a Brewer. However, the offense couldn’t add on as they went down in order. In the fifth, after Fedde retired his seventh batter in a row, the Diamondbacks started to get to him. Singles from Pavin Smith and Adrian Del Castillo put two runners on base. Alek Thomas added a third single in the inning, and Smith attempted to score on it. However, Yelich lined it up perfectly in left and threw a bullet to Contreras to get Smith at home.
The offense still couldn’t provide help for the pitching staff, though. Monasterio hit a two-out double to put a runner in scoring position, but Brice Turang grounded out to end the inning.
While Fedde and the Brewers defense kept the Diamondbacks off the board in the fifth, they broke through in the sixth. Geraldo Perdomo hit a single that fell into no man’s land in shallow center. Blaze Alexander followed that up with a home run that just cleared the right field fence, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. Fedde got out of the inning with no further issues, but the Brewers were playing from behind.
Durbin continued to give the Brewers chances to score with his third hit of the game. This one bounced over the right-field wall for a ground-rule double. Contreras and Yelich grounded out, but Durbin moved up to third on Yelich’s groundout. Another scoring opportunity would be missed as Vaughn lined out to center, leaving Durbin stranded at third. That was the end of Ryne Nelson’s day. He pitched six innings and allowed just one run on six hits.
Fedde remained in the game to start the seventh and Smith hit his second single of the day to start the inning. However, he came out of the batter’s box limping and was removed from the game. Tyler Locklear replaced him as a pinch-runner at first. Fedde struck out James McCann, but back-to-back singles from Del Castillo and Thomas ended his day. He finished with 4 1/3 innings pitched, allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks. He was responsible for the loaded bases, and Nick Mears came in to get the Brewers out of it. He did just that as Ildemaro Vargas hit a ground ball sharply at Turang. A quick turn to Monasterio followed by a throw to Vaughn turned the double play and kept it a 2-1 game.
As for the Diamondbacks, they went into their bullpen and brought in Kyle Bacchus. The Brewers took advantage of the change. Perkins drew a leadoff walk to start the inning. Danny Janson came in as a pinch hitter for Bauers but struck out. Next up, Lockridge went for a first-pitch bunt, but it turned into a sacrifice bunt that moved Perkins to second. Monasterio drew a walk for a second baserunner, and Turang hit a sharp ground ball to Vargas. With no play at second, Vargas threw to first, but the throw was wide, and Turang may have beaten it anyway. The bases were loaded, and Diamondbacks’ manager Torey Louvillo went to Juan Burgos to face Durbin, who already had three hits in the game. He wouldn’t add a fourth as he grounded out to end the inning.
With the Brewers’ bullpen thin, Mears remained in the game to start the eighth. It didn’t start well as Perdomo hit a low slider out just over the right field fence for the Diamondbacks’ second home run, increasing their lead to 3-1. He got Alexander to line out but then walked Carroll. Murphy went to Easton McGee to finish out the inning. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounded out but moved Carroll to second. Locklear then hit a ground ball right at Durbin, who tagged Carroll to end the inning.
Contreras led off the eighth inning for the Brewers. He got the Brewers back within a run with a leadoff home run — his 16th home run of the season.
Yelich kept up the pressure with a double to center, putting another runner in scoring position. Vaughn had the first chance to bring him in but popped up in foul territory. Louvillo brought in Andrew Saalfrank to face Perkins and Jansen, and the move worked. Perkins grounded out to second but moved up Yelich. Jansen had a chance to bring him in but struck out to end the inning.
McGee had the ninth inning and gave the rest of that bullpen some rest. He worked a clean inning, striking out one in the process. He retired all five batters that he saw. The Brewers had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth, and the Diamondbacks left in Saalfrank to finish out the game. Lockridge started the inning with a groundout. Monasterio hit a line drive to left for a single but tried to turn it into a double. That was a bad decision as Gurriel Jr. fired a perfect throw to second and easily got Monasterio. Turang then struck out looking to end the game.
Though it was an unconventional day for the pitching staff, they mostly made it work. Ashby started the day with two clean innings. Fedde was good to start but began unraveling in the fifth inning. Despite that, he limited the Diamondbacks to two runs (with some help from Mears). Even though Mears allowed a run, he escaped the bases-loaded jam in the seventh. McGee also added on with a clean 1 2/3 innings. Considering what the Brewers were facing today, allowing just three runs was a small victory for the pitching staff.
However, it was another night where the Brewers had their chances but couldn’t add on runs. They out-hit the Diamondbacks 10-9 but couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it. Durbin had three of those hits and Monasterio had two of his own. Despite that, they were one-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.
The Brewers can still take the series tomorrow and finish up their homestand with a winning record. Jose Quintana will face Nabil Crismatt in the final game of the series. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CT, and it will be on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.