[June 23, 2014]DENVER -- The Milwaukee Brewers
caught a huge break on an improbable play in the ninth inning Sunday and
completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 6-5 win.
With Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez trying to preserve a 6-4
lead in the bottom of the ninth, Rockies left fielder Corey
Dickerson hit a leadoff triple when the ball caromed far off the
wall in right. Rodriguez turned his left ankle and did not back up
third base.
Milwaukee center fielder Carlos Gomez made a long run to retrieve
the ball, and his throw was wide of third and rolled toward the
Brewers' dugout.
Dickerson broke for home and seemed a sure bet to score, but he
stumbled. He retreated, but third baseman Aramis Ramirez picked up
the ball and threw to catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who ran Dickerson
down and tagged him out.
Wilin Rosario followed with a home run to straightaway center field
that cut Milwaukee's lead to one run before Rodriguez retired the
next two batters to end the game. Rosario finished with four hits
and three RBIs, but he made a mental lapse on a play at the plate in
the fifth.
"I guess when you're good, things go good," Ramirez said. "If that
guy (doesn't fall), Rosario hits that homer to tie it up. We'll take
it any way we can."
The Brewers (47-30) completed a 6-1 road trip that began in Arizona,
and they improved their major-league-leading road record to 27-15.
The Brewers are 20-15 at Miller Park, where they play 14 of their
next 19 games leading up to the All-Star break.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Rockies, who are 6-14 this
month and 8-27 in their past 35 games. The Rockies (34-41) outhit
the Brewers 15-10 but went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring
position. They stranded 12 runners, seven at either second or third
base.
Before Milwaukee's good fortune in the bottom of the ninth, Lyle
Overbay connected for the Brewers' first pinch-hit homer of the
season in the top of the inning. It came against struggling Adam
Ottavino, who was scored upon for the fifth time in six outings.
"That was a terrible pitch I threw," Ottavino said of the 2-2 slider
that Overbay walloped. "But in general, I'm not getting away with
anything. I'm trying to attack, let them put it in play, but it's
just that they're getting what they want with it when they put it in
play, and I'm not."
Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the second to back Kyle Lohse, who
worked five innings, matching his shortest start of the year, before
five relievers finished up. Lohse (9-2) allowed seven hits, three
walks and three runs.
"It's always hard here," Lohse said. "I'm a control guy, so I need
to know exactly where the ball's moving. (With) the elevation, it's
never breaking the way you want it to. So I was just trying to be
careful not to make a big mistake and give up a long fly ball that
ended up in seats."
Overbay's homer gave Rodriguez what proved to be necessary breathing
room, and Rodriguez earned his major-league-leading 25th save. He
opted not to throw any warm-up pitches before facing Rosario after
turning his ankle.
"I don't want to cool off," Rodriguez said. "Might be a little
swollen. Might be a little sore, pain. I just want to get to the
mound as quick as possible, end the inning quick as I can."
He did just that by striking out pinch hitter Ryan Wheeler and
getting Charlie Culberson to ground out.
Rockies starter Tyler
Matzek (1-2) threw 96 pitches, just 50 for strikes, in 5 1/3
innings.
The Brewers scored twice with two outs in the fifth, aided by
Rosario's mental lapse. With Braun on first and second baseman
Rickie Weeks on second, the Brewers attempted a double steal.
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy singled, scoring Weeks, and Braun scored
when Lucroy was trapped in a rundown that saw first baseman Justin
Morneau throw home seemingly in time to get Braun only to have
Rosario not try to tag him. Braun scored as Rosario instead threw
out Lucroy at second.
"I could tell that the ball was hit, and when I looked back to see
where the ball was, I was closer to second than I realized," Braun
said. "So I passed second without touching it, had to go back and
touch second, and then once I saw Luc in the rundown, I was just
trying to wait for an opportunity to run."
Asked whether he would have been out had Rosario tried to tag him,
Braun said, "I haven't watched the replay, but I felt like it
definitely would have been close. I didn't anticipate, when I took
off for home, there not being a play, I'll put it that way."
NOTES: Brewers CF Carlos Gomez extended his career-high hitting
streak to 18 games with a bunt single in the second. He has also
reached base safely in 35 consecutive games, putting him one shy of
tying for the fourth longest such streak in franchise history.
Thanks to Sunday's win, Ron Roenicke became the fifth manager in
Brewers history to earn at least 300 victories. ... Rockies C
Michael McKenry will go on the bereavement list Monday. C Jackson
Williams will be promoted from Triple-A Colorado Springs to replace
McKenry on the roster. ... RHP Rob Scahill was recalled from
Colorado Springs. RHP Wilton Lopez was returned to Colorado Springs
after the Rockies brought him to Denver on Saturday but were unable
to activate him due to roster rules the Rockies overlooked. ...
Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez, who was lifted for a pinch hitter in the
ninth inning Saturday due to lower back stiffness, started and went
2-for-4 Sunday.
With Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez trying to preserve a 6-4
lead in the bottom of the ninth, Rockies left fielder Corey
Dickerson hit a leadoff triple when the ball caromed far off the
wall in right. Rodriguez turned his left ankle and did not back up
third base.
