Despite two-hit games from William Contreras and Cooper Pratt and another quality start from Kyle Harrison (6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), the Brewers dropped their second straight game to the Atlanta Braves — this time on a walk-off home run by Ozzie Albies.
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As expected, today’s game turned into a pitchers’ duel between Harrison and Braves starter Chris Sale. Sale allowed only two hits through the first five innings — singles by Contreras and Blake Perkins. Harrison was perfect through four innings, striking out six in the process, but Albies led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run.
After getting two quick outs, Harrison then allowed another hit when Eli White hit a slow grounder to third. Joey Ortiz fielded it cleanly but took his time getting rid of the ball, allowing the speedy White to barely beat the throw to first. The next batter, Joey Bart, flied out to deep center field to end the inning with the score 1-0, Atlanta.
Luckily, the Brewers got that run back almost immediately. Joey Ortiz started the top of the sixth by striking out, but Jackson Chourio ripped a single into right field to give the Brewers a baserunner. Brice Turang then hit a grounder to Albies at second that should have been at least one out, but Chourio was running on the pitch, and Albies couldn’t field it cleanly. He flipped it to second, but it was too late to get Chourio, so Turang reached safely on the fielder’s choice.
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That gave the Brewers runners on first and second with one out for William Contreras, who singled into right field to load the bases. Chourio may have been able to score on the play, but with White charging the ball in right field, third base coach Matt Erickson elected to hold him at third.
The decision paid off one batter later. Gary Sánchez lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that was just deep enough to bring Chourio home and tie the game at one run apiece.
Next up was Andrew Vaughn, who swung at a low slider from Sale and hit a soft, looping line drive into no man’s land in center field. Neither Albies nor center fielder Michael Harris II was able to get there in time, so the ball dropped harmlessly onto the grass to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.
Vaughn’s RBI single came on Sale’s 101st pitch, which would also be his last of the day. Right-hander Didier Fuentes entered in relief and struck out Jake Bauers — pinch-hitting for Perkins — on a foul tip to end the frame.
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After a 1-2-3 sixth inning for Harrison, the bottom of the Brewers’ order started another rally in the top of the seventh. Garrett Mitchell lined out to start the inning, but Cooper Pratt singled into right for his fifth hit in the last four games. With Pratt on first, Ortiz perfectly executed a hit-and-run, poking a ground-ball single through the right side as Albies covered the bag.
With Pratt on third, Ortiz at first, and still only one out, Chourio smoked a one-hopper right at third baseman Austin Riley. Riley made a nice play to pick the ball, but instead of coming up throwing to second, he threw to first to retire Chourio. Pratt scored without a throw to give the Brewers an insurance run.
Harrison returned for the seventh inning and retired the first batter he faced, Matt Olson, but then allowed a single to Albies and a double to Harris. With Harrison at 85 pitches and the tying run in scoring position, Brewers manager Pat Murphy turned to Abner Uribe to escape the jam. Uribe induced groundouts from both Austin Riley and Dominic Smith to end the inning, but Albies scored on Riley’s grounder to cut Milwaukee’s lead back down to a run.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, neither team had scored again. Trevor Megill retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the eighth, and the Brewers were held scoreless in the top of the ninth despite another single and a steal from Pratt. Uribe and Megill had both already pitched, so Aaron Ashby came in for the save.
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Ashby struck out Drake Baldwin for the first out of the inning, but Matt Olson followed with a bloop single into right-center field to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Albies. Albies, who had already homered off Harrison earlier in the game, fouled off two pitches before laying off a curveball in the dirt.
Ashby’s fourth pitch was hardly a mistake — a 98-mph sinker right on the outer edge of the plate — but Albies managed to get the barrel on it, lofting a high fly ball down the right-field line. The ball left his bat at just 94.4 mph, too soft to even qualify as a “hard-hit ball” per Statcast. But with the foul pole at Truist Park sitting only 325 feet from home plate, it cleared the fence for a walk-off two-run homer.
In Murphy’s words, Albies’ second home run of the afternoon was essentially a “bloop hit.” Still, the Brewers had opportunities of their own to take advantage of the short porch in right and couldn’t capitalize. Sometimes, that’s baseball.
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Robert Gasser will get the ball tomorrow, facing off against Bryce Elder (5-4, 3.15 ERA) as Milwaukee looks to avoid the sweep. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m.
