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 Center fielder Carlos Gomez opened the scoring with a leadoff home
run in the first inning and closed it with a game-winning RBI single
in the seventh Monday to lead Milwaukee to a 3-2 victory over the
Detroit Tigers.
It squared Counsell's record at 7-7 since he took over as the
Brewers manager. Milwaukee is now 14-25.
"Consistency in a baseball season is a mark of a good team,"
Counsell said. "You've got to play good every night to be a good
team."
Milwaukee met and passed every test Monday in winning for just the
second time in six games.
Gomez met and passed his tests, too, after getting hit on the helmet
Sunday by a 97 mph fastball in a game against the New York Mets.
"He passed all the tests (Sunday)," Counsell said. "It didn't matter
what he said after he got hit, he was coming out of the game.
"They checked him. He said he felt fine. I talked to him on the
plane ride here.
"I felt pretty good that he'd be okay. It's scary. It's not pretty.
It's a reminder that this is a dangerous game."
The win went to right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress (1-0), who got
a strikeout with runners on second and third with two outs in the
sixth and then pitched a scoreless seventh in which he fanned two
more.
Right-handers Jonathan Broxton and Francisco Rodriguez pitched the
eighth and ninth, with Rodriguez picking up his eighth save.
"Our bullpen guys were really good," Counsel said. "JJ (Jeffress)
and Broxton had their best stuff of the year, lights-out stuff."
The loss went to left-hander Kyle Lobstein (3-4), who gave up a pair
of early solo home runs and then three singles in the sixth capped
by Gomez's sharp ground single to center.
Third baseman Elian Herrera singled to start the sixth and was
forced at second. Catcher Martin Maldonado singled to put runners on
first and second. On Gomez's hit, shortstop Luis Sardinas slid home
just ahead of catcher James McCann's tag on the throw from center
fielder Anthony Gose.
Lobstein allowed seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking one and
striking out three.
Mike Fiers started for the Brewers and allowed two runs on six hits
over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
"Well, the pitching was good," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "We
just couldn't muster any runs. We eked out a couple runs, but
generally, two runs isn't going to be enough."
Detroit designated hitter Victor Martinez grounded into a double
play that required a review of two-minutes, 48 seconds to confirm
with runners on first and second and nobody out in the eighth.
Bothered by a bad left knee that undermines his left-handed hitting,
Martinez was in the starting lineup for the first time in five
games.
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He was 0-for-4 and didn't look appreciably different than before his
rest. He is now 0-for-13 and has just one extra-base hit from the
left side this season. Ausmus conceded it may be time to rethink
where Martinez hits in the order, at least, but seemed to rule out a
stay on the disabled list.
"From the look of things," he said, "I think we're going to have to
at least talk about other options. But we'll do that privately."
Aramis Ramirez, Counsell's choice to be the Brewers' designated
hitter in the American League city, hit the first Lobstein pitch of
the fourth inning down the left-field line and over the fence for
his fourth home run, creating a 2-2 tie.
The Tigers took the lead 2-1 in the second when McCann laid down a
perfect two-out squeeze bunt and beat it out for an RBI single. Left
fielder Rajai Davis had doubled and stolen third.
Gose led off the first with a single, stole second, took third on a
wild pitch and scored when second baseman Ian Kinsler grounded out
to first.
The home run by Gomez was his fourth of the season.
NOTES: LF Yoenis Cespedes was not in Detroit's starting lineup for
the first time this season. He appeared as a pinch hitter and
grounded into a game-ending double play. Manager Brad Ausmus plans
to rest his remaining two players who have appeared in every game,
1B Miguel Cabrera and 2B Ian Kinsler, as soon as possible. ...
Milwaukee optioned out 2B Scooter Gennett and brought up former
first-round Detroit draft choice RHP Corey Knebel. "In an American
League series with a DH, there will be less moves in games,"
Counsell said. "We felt the extra pitcher would be more valuable
than the extra position player." ... Disabled RHPs Justin Verlander
and Bruce Rondon both threw bullpens Monday in their efforts to
return to the Tigers in the next two weeks.
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