Finally, it happened. The Milwaukee Brewers’ 14-game win streak ended on Sunday with a 3-2 extra-inning loss in Cincinnati. Ironically, the Reds beat them in patented Brewers style: capitalizing on a late error, stringing together hits, staying resilient through the ebbs and flows.
While it’s disappointing to see the streak die, manager Pat Murphy looks at one play in particular – that ninth-inning error by Brice Turang – as something to help keep the team in the right state of mind moving forward.
Difficult play, ruled error, jumpstarts Reds rally
Trailing 1-0, the Brewers took a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth on a William Contreras homerun, giving Tobias Myers a chance to close it out in his first-ever save chance. But Turang’s misplay in the bottom half of the inning allowed the Reds’ leadoff man aboard, and ultimately led to a pitching change: after Myers got the next guy, Murphy brought in ground-ball pitcher Grant Anderson to try and induce a double play, a move he said he would not have made with the bases empty.
The Reds quickly tied the game and then won it off Anderson in the 10th. Although hardly to blame for the loss in its entirety, the error is nonetheless what opened the door. Coming from a Gold Glover like Turang, it’s all the more unfortunate.
As a team, moreover, the Brewers just don’t make errors. Their opponents do, as Cincinnati did on the play that tied the game at two in the ninth inning on Saturday.
The Brewers also do the little things right and play fundamentally sound baseball, but in the top of the ninth on Sunday, Blake Perkins failed to lay down a successful sacrifice, resulting in Andrew Vaughn, the ghost runner, being thrown out at third. In the bottom half, the Reds executed the same play to perfection, setting up the walk-off scenario.
It was an uncharacteristic way to lose, and while Murphy didn’t turn to excuses, he stuck up for his guy. “I mean, I think it was a tough ball to give him an error, to be honest with you, because of the way it was spinning, and the way it was hit,” the manager said. “I don’t think it’s an error. I think it was a tough ball to give a guy an error.”
Official scoring decision be what it may, Murphy believes that keeping the rally-igniting miscue in mind can help the Brewers stay focused in the future.
1 fundamental baseball fact the loss drives home for Brewers
“You know, it’s just a reminder for our guys,” Murphy said. “Every pitch matters. The game ain’t over till it’s over. We of anyone know that, because we’ve done it this week. But, you know, we’re showing signs of being human.”
Just in case the team needed a refresher, it’s a good lesson to take away from the game. Certainly the Brewers found themselves vulnerable to the variance of a single play. Working with an exhausting shell of a bullpen ahead of Monday’s doubleheader, they were already disadvantaged for a tight contest like Sunday’s. Simply due to a lack of available arms, Anderson had to stay in for the 10th despite his struggles, ultimately cinching the defeat.
Still, the players gave themselves a chance. Murphy shrugged and smiled. “If the ball bounces a different way, we win.” The way Milwaukee has been going, landing on the wrong side of bad luck is a strange feeling.
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