Brewers: Taylor Jungmann cruises behind big run support
By Phil Watson
The Milwaukee Brewers broke out the bats for the first time since before trading away three everyday players last week and rookie right-hander Taylor Jungmann made the most of it as the Brewers cruised to an 8-5 win over the San Diego Padres at Miller Park Wednesday night.
Jungmann (6-3) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings, striking out eight and without issuing a walk as he snapped a two-start losing streak.
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The win was Milwaukee’s second in a row after losing six straight.
The Brewers (46-63) got the fires burning early, scoring four times in the bottom of the first against right-hander Ian Kennedy (6-10) to give Jungmann all the support he needed.
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San Diego (52-56) got a first-inning run when Alexi Amarista and Yangervis Solarte led off the game with back-to-back singles and Matt Kemp lofted a sacrifice fly to right field.
But in the bottom of the inning, Scooter Gennett led off with a single and Jonathan Lucroy smacked his fourth homer of the season to left field.
Adam Lind later had a one-out single and moved to third when Khris Davis belted a ground-rule double over the wall in left-center. Shane Peterson’s triple to right scored both runners.
Jungmann avoided further difficulty until the seventh, giving up a run on a double by Yonder Alonso and an RBI single by Will Venable.
“Being consistent is huge up here,” Jungmann told MLB.com. “Being able to make in-game adjustments is another big thing for me. If you have a rough first inning, you have to make an adjustment. If you don’t, they’re going to wear you out out there.”
Jungmann’s performance came on the heels of Jimmy Nelson’s strong outing on Tuesday, encouraging signs for the future.
“Those guys have a lot of talent,” Lucroy told MLB.com. “And they’re hard workers. They’re going to continue to get better.”
Jungmann has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts since being recalled in early June, including his last eight in a row. After Wednesday, his ERA is a sparkling 2.26.
The Brewers broke it open in the eighth against right-hander Marcos Mateo.
Ryan Braun got it started with a one-out double and Mateo intentionally walked Lind before getting Davis to fly out.
But with two outs, Logan Schafer lined a single to left to score Braun for a 5-2 lead. Jean Segura singled to right to score a pair and wound up at third on an error by center fielder Melvin Upton. Hernan Perez capped the rally with a single to right to score Segura.
But Corey Knebel made a mess of things to start the ninth, allowing an RBI double to Venable and a two-run homer to Brett Wallace. He was chased when Upton singled and Francisco Rodriguez came on to strike out Derek Norris to earn his 25th save of the season.
Will Smith allowed a hit and struck out two while getting two outs in the eighth. Jeremy Jeffress struck out the only hitter he faced to end that inning. Knebel was charged with four runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Davis was 2-for-4, while every Milwaukee starter—including Jungmann—had at least one hit.
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The four-game set concludes at 1:10 p.m. Thursday, with right-hander Matt Garza (5-12, 5.17 ERA) scheduled to face right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne (5-7, 4.75).
Garza is 2-0 in three career starts against San Diego, with a 2.14 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in 21 innings, striking out 22. He last faced the Padres in 2011 when he was with the Chicago Cubs.
He has lost his last two starts, including Saturday when he gave up three runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in six innings of a 4-2 loss to the Cubs at Miller Park.
Despaigne took a no-decision in his only prevois career start against the Brewers, allowing two runs—one earned—on six hits with a walk and nine strikeouts in seven innings of a game San Diego won 3-2 last Aug. 27 at Petco Park.
He has won two straight starts, including Saturday when he worked six innings and allowed three runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.