Gary Sanchez saves the day once again with a tie-breaking two-run home run and two outs in the eighth inning in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 6-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
The Brewers, who are currently 33-23, remain in first place in the NL Central after winning three of four points against Chicago in a rather thrilling series that marked the return of former Brewers manager Craig Counsell for the first time to American Family Field since he signed offseason to become the Cubs’ novel manager.
Every time he left the dugout, his return was met with boos. The Cubs (28-29) have now lost seven of eight games and are below .500 for the first time since March.
A tardy but thrilling power play put the Milwaukee Brewers in scoring position
Colin Rea was in a tough spot ahead of Milwaukee, but he started slowly. Cody Bellinger put Chicago ahead with a two-run homer in the first inning; The only lead the Cubs held throughout the game.
Enter the second round. Willy Adames got on a heated streak with a leadoff double and was able to advance to third on a grounder. Gary Sanchez was then able to bring in Adames and score on a sac fly. With two outs, Sal Frelick scored and then Joey Ortiz scored twice for Frelick. Ortiz was then able to score on a single by Blake “Clutch” Perkins.
Two. Outside. Rallies. pic.twitter.com/DFYZsNLJ9p
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 30, 2024
Rea was able to walk around that solo home run and work five innings, holding the Cubs to just one run. He finished his Thursday by allowing five walks and five strikeouts. Jameson Taillon worked six innings, allowing three runs in the second inning on six hits.
Man of the match: Gary Sanchez
The Brewers led 3-1 in the fifth inning when Bryan Hudson (4-0) came on in relief, and the Cubs were able to hit not one but two homers by Seiya Suzuki and Christopher Morel to tie the game. By the eighth game the score was 4-4, and Milwaukee was not going to let Chicago win.
Gary Sanchez put the Brewers back in front in the eighth period with a 422-foot double that centered Tyson Miller. Entering Thursday’s game, Sanchez had an OPS of .971 for lefties and a less impressive .643 OPS for righties. Manager Pat Murphy presented Sanchez with flowers, saying he was elated for the catcher.
“He’s going to take some hits, but the guy is dangerous and everyone in the league knows it.” Murphy said. “I’m really happy for him. He kind of shoved it in our faces, saying, “Hey, man, I can hit more than lefties.” Pretty cool.”
They lived at a temperature of absolute zero @ElGarySanchez https://t.co/0uMFV9wUHi pic.twitter.com/48ZUHSriDT
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 30, 2024
The last time we saw a good moment from Sanchez was in April, when he hit Aroldis Chapman with a two-run, power-hitting homer in the eighth inning of a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sanchez said nothing has changed and in his opinion “the focus remains the same. Find a pitch in the zone and try to swing it well. I did it today.”
Elvis Peguero came on to close the game and got the Brewers in massive trouble when he allowed a one-out single to Dansby Swanson in the ninth. However, the match ended with Patrick Wisdom settling in after solid play by Ortiz. Peguero became the seventh pitcher this season to record a save for the Brewers.
Next up for brewers:
The Brewers are taking no days off as they prepare to welcome the Chicago White Sox, who have lost eight straight games, in a three-game series beginning Friday night. The first whistle is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Central European Time at American Family Field.
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