The Milwaukee Brewers are hoping to build on a signature victory when they conclude a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday in Phoenix.
After dropping the first two games of the four-game set, Milwaukee rallied to send the game to extra innings and then Arizona 8-6 in 10 innings on Saturday.
Pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez tied the game with a solo homer in the ninth before Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run homer in the 10th.
“We just kept battling,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a good win. It wasn’t easy, for sure. But we kept at it, never gave an inch and were able to come out on top.”
Taylor had two homers among his three hits for Milwaukee, which sits 7 1/2 games behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 2 1/2 games out of the race for the third — and final — wild-card spot.
The Brewers will aim for a series split against Arizona ace Zac Gallen (10-2, 2.53 ERA), who carries a 34 1/3 scoreless inning streak into the contest. The right-hander is 7 2/3 innings shy of Brandon Webb’s club record of 42 consecutive shutout innings in 2007.
The 29-year-old has played a key role in Arizona’s resurgence in recent weeks. The D-backs have won seven of their past nine games and are 23-17 since the All-Star break.
Gallen was named National League pitcher of the month for August after allowing only three runs over his six starts. He is 6-0 with a 0.72 ERA in his past eight starts and has not lost since June 10.
“He continues to stay locked in,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “He’s on a great run. He’s working his butt off.”
Gallen turned in another dominant outing last Tuesday, when he allowed two hits over seven shutout frames against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Milwaukee will counter with rookie Jason Alexander (2-1, 4.97) in the series finale. He earned another opportunity after impressing in a spot start against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Tuesday.
The right-hander allowed one run on three hits with a career-high six strikeouts over five innings while throwing 59 pitches.
“He got us 15 outs, and he did it really efficiently,” Counsell said. “It was probably more outs than we expected, actually, but he had very quick innings, so we got exactly what we wanted.”
Alexander, 29, has shuffled between Triple-A Nashville and Milwaukee this season. He pitched primarily out of the Brewers’ bullpen last month, posting a 2.77 ERA in five appearances across 13 innings.
Right fielder Hunter Renfroe is batting .400 (16-for-40) during his 10-game hitting streak for the Brewers, who have 30 games remaining.
Arizona has received a spark from second baseman Josh Rojas, who had two hits on Saturday and is batting .303 (23-for-76) with 13 RBIs in his past 19 games.
Milwaukee left fielder Christian Yelich has missed the past two games due to neck discomfort and is listed as day-to-day.
–Field Level Media
