Pair of plays at the plate spoil hunt for 2nd straight comeback

MILWAUKEE — Tuesday’s sport at American Household Area was shaping as much as be a rousing encore for Monday, when the Brewers got here from behind to knock off the Cubs.

However after Milwaukee erased one other huge deficit — and compelled additional innings with a late rally — Chicago held on for an 11-inning, 7-6 victory.

“It was an excellent sport at the moment,” Brewers supervisor Craig Counsell stated. “We’re on the dropping aspect of it, sadly. However a extremely good sport.”

On the epicenter of a back-and-forth last few innings had been a pair of performs during which Cubs left fielder Ian Happ threw out Brewers runners at residence plate.

Happ’s first throw, within the tenth inning, lower down what would have been the Brewers’ game-winning run. His second throw, an inning later, retired Owen Miller and accomplished a game-ending double play because the Cubs secured the win.

“Happ made nice throws,” Counsell stated. “I feel that is the place you’ve bought to start out with these two performs, is he made two actually, actually good throws. Issues [have] bought to go proper, nonetheless, to attain a man from third with one out. With two outs, there isn’t any query about it.

“We made him make a superb throw within the tenth. He made a superb throw.”

“[Happ] did must make a superb throw, and he did,” Miller stated of the game-ending play. “Credit score to him. He made a superb throw the inning earlier than that, too. Credit score to him. I imply, when you do not make that throw, then we clearly tie that up there.”

The Brewers scored twice in each the eighth and ninth innings to tie the Cubs at 6 and drive additional innings. Chicago failed to attain within the prime half of the tenth, and Milwaukee appeared on its strategy to a walk-off win within the backside half of the inning.

Miller lined a single into left discipline, however Happ got here up firing with an ideal one-hop throw to the plate to retire Andruw Monasterio — preserving the tie. Miller tried to advance to second on the play, however catcher Miguel Amaya threw him out to finish the inning on an unorthodox 7-2-4 double play.

The Brewers challenged the out calls at second and residential, and likewise whether or not Amaya had illegally blocked the plate. The out calls had been confirmed, and replay additionally confirmed that there was no plate-blocking violation.

“Effectively, I tagged him — the man at residence plate,” Amaya stated. “I noticed [Miller]like, celebrating. He was midway [to second]so I threw the ball there and we made that play and bought out of the inning.”

The Cubs took a 7-6 lead within the eleventh, on an infield single by Nico Hoerner, which Willy Adames snagged however couldn’t throw precisely to first.

Within the backside half, Miller began on second base as the automated runner earlier than advancing to 3rd on Raimel Tapia’s groundout. He tagged up on Brice Turang’s flyout to left, and Happ fired one other strike to Amaya. It beat Miller by a number of toes for a game-ending double play.

“Any crew you play on, you need to be an aggressive baserunning crew,” Miller stated. “You need to make the blokes throw you out. That’s type of our perspective on stealing bases and tagging up on fly balls. … You possibly can dwell with a man throwing you out like that on the finish of the sport, since you’re not less than making him throw you out.

“You are making him make a play on you. It is baseball. Typically, it does not fall your approach.”

Happ’s two denials stood between the Brewers and one other spectacular win, following Monday’s six-run comeback. Wade Miley held the Cubs to 4 runs in 5 innings regardless of permitting 9 hits. The eighth- and ninth-inning rallies got here towards Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay, two of the Cubs’ prime relievers.

“We didn’t roll over yesterday, and we fought again and received the sport,” Miller stated. “Immediately, we got here again, and sadly we didn’t find yourself with a win. However clearly it confirmed that we had been preventing. We put up a superb combat, and that may set us up for achievement for the subsequent two video games.”

Mentioned Counsell: “Each groups simply left every thing on the market, for certain. We battled again down 4 once more. Battled again and put collectively some nice rallies late towards two good relievers having good years. We did it proper. We misplaced on a floor ball that sadly was hit to the fitting spot for them.”