Brewers: Carlos Gomez’s 2nd homer helps Crew avoid sweep
By Phil Watson
Carlos Gomez broke out his big bat on Wednesday, cracking a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to pace the Milwaukee Brewers past the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park to avoid a series sweep.
It was the second homer of the game for Gomez, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, and improved the Brewers’ home record to a paltry 16-28. Milwaukee had lost the first two games of the series after winning seven straight on their most recent road trip.
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Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers (37-50) got their game-winning rally started against left-hander Luis Avilan (2-3), just on out of the bullpen, when left-handed swinging Shane Peterson and Gerardo Parra led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Avilan rebounded to strike out Jonathan Lucroy before Gomez lofted his eighth homer of the season to left-center field.
Jeremy Jeffress (3-0) got the win for Milwaukee, working 1.1 scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout. All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez worked around a hit in the ninth, striking out one to earn his 19th straight save of the season.
More significantly, it was career save No. 367, tying him with Jeff Reardon for eighth on the all-time list.
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“He’s making it look relatively easy,” manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com. “That’s a tough save right there. He’s helped us. That’s why he’s an All-Star. It’s as good as he’s been since he’s been here.”
Next up on the all-time list is the active leader, Joe Nathan of the Detroit Tigers (out for the season after Tommy John surgery in late April) with 377. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is sixth with 390 career saves.
The Brewers fought back after Atlanta (42-43) roughed up starter Mike Fiers in a four-run third inning.
Cameron Maybin provided the big blast with a three-run homer to left field, his eighth of the season, and Kelly Johnson later connected for his eighth homer of the campaign.
Otherwise, Fiers was solid. He allowed four runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts in six innings.
“Giving up four in one inning isn’t ideal, but you try to keep it there after that,” Fiers told MLB.com. “The way we’ve been swinging the bats the last week and a half, I knew we had a chance.”
Khris Davis cut the deficit in half in the fourth, belting his sixth homer of the season—and his first since his return from the disabled list on Tuesday—off Braves starter Julio Teheran. Davis’ homer to center field came after Adam Lind walked.
Gomez hit his first homer of the game in the sixth off Teheran.
But Atlanta got an insurance run in the seventh off left-hander Will Smith when Nick Markakis doubled to right field to score Jace Peterson, who led off the frame with a single.
Gomez, who finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, his first two-homer game since May 27, 2013, against the Minnesota Twins and just the third of his career.
But Gomez was more interested in K-Rod’s milestone.
“It’s not just what he’s been doing pitching, it’s what he brings every day here,” Gomez said. “He’s a leader here of what we call ‘the bus.’ Having him beside my locker every day and talking to him, he puts a lot of stuff in my mind, growing me as a hitter and professionally.”
Rodriguez is 19-for-19 in save chances this season and has held opponents scoreless in 28 of his 32 appearances this season.
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The Brewers had only five hits on the day, with only two of them in seven innings against Teheran—but they were both home runs.
Milwaukee is off Thursday, traveling to the West Coast for a strange three-day California trip just before the All-Star break against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jimmy Nelson (6-8, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener at Dodger Stadium Friday at 9:10 p.m. Central against right-hander Mike Bolsinger (4-3, 3.09 ERA).
Nelson is 0-1 in two career starts against the Dodgers, with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings. Both of those starts were in 2014. He picked up his third straight win on Saturday in Cincinnati despite allowing three runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings.
Bolsinger, acquired by Los Angeles last November from the Arizona Diamondbacks, is 0-1 in two career starts against Milwaukee, with a 5.56 ERA in 11.1 innings. Both of those appearances came last year with Arizona.