The Milwaukee Brewers almost had it on Bob Uecker Day against the Giants. After a blown save and fizzled would-be rally, however, the game slipped away for a 4-3 loss. On the season, the Brewers are now 81-50. Their division lead over the Cubs shrunk from nine games to five in less than a week.
Third baseman Caleb Durbin, for one, certainly did his part. Early on, he doubled and scored a run to tie the score at two; in his next at-bat, his fifth-inning homerun gave Milwaukee a one-run lead.
That wasn’t enough to earn him a plate appearance against Giants closer Ryan Walker with two outs and a man on in the ninth; the pinch hitter, Anthony Seigler, ultimately struck out looking. Postgame, manager Pat Murphy explained his decision, sure to be questioned by unhappy fans following the loss.
Milwaukee Brewers’ matchup strategy failed to come through
To Seigler’s credit, he worked the count full and could have had a walk after ball three. The first pitch he saw, a sinker up and away, was a questionable strike call. He easily could have begun the at-bat with a 1-0 advantage, not an 0-1 hole.
It didn’t play out that way, of course, and removing Durbin for a fellow rookie batting .208 with zero extra base hits this season was bound to go over poorly if it didn’t work.
From a righty-lefty matchup, though, the move made sense. Seigler bats left-handed. Walker, a right-hander, fares better against righties like Durbin, who hits better against lefties on the mound. From that perspective, it was an obvious pinch-hitting scenario.
Walker’s pitching arsenal, featuring an upper 90’s sinker and slider combo, also factored into the decision. “Durbin is not a good matchup for that guy,” Murphy said. “The few weaknesses Durbin has, that’s not the best matchup.”
Still, Seigler’s weak profile and Durbin’s strong day justify second-guessing. Murphy must have known he would be fielding questions after the game.
Bad call or not, a good at-bat for Seigler
It’s at least a bonus for the optics that the pinch hitter didn’t go down 1-2-3. Although strike three was probably too close to take, Seigler ground out a decent at-bat versus a tough pitcher. His manager said as much.
“Seiger had a great at-bat. You look at that at-bat, the first pitch is a ball. They called it a strike. Umpires are not perfect, but it’s clearly a ball,” Murphy said. “It’s ball four. Seigler’s got a knack for getting on base in big situations.”
Drawing walks is something Seigler does undeniably well – he has seven this month in just 34 trips to the plate. Really, he could have had another one. In that case, Sal Frelick, on first after a two-out single, would have moved into scoring position with William Contreras coming up.
At the end of the day, though, the Brewers should not be griping about a bad strike call. They had a ninth-inning lead that, in his second straight outing, closer Trevor Megill just couldn’t hold. They’ll give it another go on Monday as they host the Diamondbacks (64-67). First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM CT.
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