Keon Broxton has made challenging plays look routine for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The center fielder’s latest gem may have been his best one yet.
Broxton helped preserve a lead in the ninth
http://www.officialcanadiensprostore.com/authentic-adidas-karl-alzner-jersey , rookie Nate Orf hit a solo homer in Milwaukee’s two-run seventh and the Brewers
beat the sliding Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Wednesday.
Broxton was on deck when Orf went deep two batters after Brad Miller hit a solo shot off Jose Berrios (8-7) to lead off the bottom of the seventh. It was
Orf’s first career hit after coming up empty in his first seven at-bats.
Just a couple weeks ago, Broxton and Orf were also teammates at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
”Yeah I think I’m more excited about Orf’s home run,” Broxton said with a smile.
The Miller Park crowd was just as deliriously happy with Broxton’s catch. He ran full speed back to the wall and jumped with an outstretched glove to rob
Brian Dozier of a homer for the second out in the ninth.
Broxton, filling in for the injured Lorenzo Cain, also made a tough catch at the angled part of the wall in center in a 6-5 win over Minnesota on Friday. He
made a diving grab in the ninth last week to preserve a win at Cincinnati.
But manager Craig Counsell said Broxton’s latest catch was ”special … that one, he was on the run and had to time everything absolutely perfectly.”
The play prevented a rocky ninth for Corey Knebel from getting any worse. Eduardo Escobar hit his 13th homer and Jorge Polanco singled with two out, but
Max Kepler flied to left to end the game. Knebel picked up his 10th save.
The Twins closed out a 1-8 road trip with their sixth consecutive loss.
”Frustrating. Dozier hits that ball and they made a heck of a play on that ball and then (Escobar) goes deep,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
BIG HIT
Jesus Aguilar and Manny Pina lifted Orf up by his legs at the dugout steps to help the rookie answer a plea for a curtain call from a vocal crowd following
his homer in the seventh.
”They picked me up and that’s when I noticed they wanted a curtain call,” Orf said. ”Next thing I know, I’m in front of all the fans on their shoulders. It
was awesome.”
ON THE MOUND
Jeremy Jeffress (6-1) picked up the win despite allowing Dozier to score from third on Jorge Polanco’s bloop single to left for a 1-all tie in the top of the
seventh. The hit snapped a stretch of 20 1/3 scoreless innings for Minnesota
against the Brewers.
Berrios allowed five hits, struck out three and walked two in seven innings. He got little support from Minnesota’s punchless offense, which managed just
three hits in the first 6 1/3 innings against Chase Anderson.
”I feel mad. As a pitcher, I never want to lose,” Berrios said. ”We had a chance to win the game and then they hit me for two homers. So I don’t like
that.”
MAUER MILESTONE
Twins first baseman Joe Mauer got his 414th career double in the fourth inning, matching Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett for the franchise record.
QUOTABLE
”Yeah, that whole play, I think it was the best play I’ve ever made.” – Broxton on his ninth-inning catch.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Two-time All-Star RHP Ervin Santana (right middle finger surgery) is scheduled to make his next rehab appearance on Thursday at Class A Fort Myers. …
Molitor said utility player Taylor Motter (concussion symptoms) is on a ”pretty
good track” to return from the 7-day disabled list on Friday.
Brewers: OF Christian Yelich went 1 for 4 after being held out of the starting lineup for five games with lower back tightness. … Counsell said it’s a
”pretty good sign” that Cain (left groin) is running the bases. ”We are
close
http://www.officialpredators.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-hartman-jersey , we’re just not there yet,” the skipper said.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Aaron Slegers will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to start the opener of a four-game series on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Slegers, who has made one appearance this season in the big leagues, is 5-6 with
a 3.55 ERA in 14 starts in the minors. Left-handed reliever Gabriel Moya was
optioned to Triple-A to open a roster spot.
Brewers: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (6-3) opens a four-game series against the visiting Atlanta Braves. Chacin is 1-4 with a 3.94 ERA in six career starts
against Atlanta.
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Billy Hamilton is well aware of his struggles at the plate. The Cincinnati Reds centerfielder has tried to stay positive even as his average and his spot
in the batting order dropped at an alarming rate, trying to focus on being a
more complete player until his swing returned.
For the first time in a while – far too long for Hamilton’s liking – everything that makes him so effective was on full display Sunday against
Pittsburgh. Hamilton went 3 for 4, stole two bases, scored three times and made
a pair of vital defensive plays as the Reds held on for an 8-6 victory on
Sunday.
Hamilton started the day with a diving grab on the warning track in right-center to rob Pittsburgh’s Francisco Cervelli of extra bases in the first.
He ended it by starting the sequence that cut down the potential game-tying run
at the plate in the eighth then trotting home in the ninth after Scott
Schebler’s two-run shot gave Cincinnati a little extra breathing room.
”Oh my goodness, that’s the best part (is the hitting),” Hamilton said after boosting his average .197. ”I ain’t worried about the catch. The catch is good,
but I’m just worried about what I did at the plate. Especially for me, I’ve been
struggling, man. Just to have one of these days, it gives you a bunch of
confidence and clears your head a little bit.”
Eugenio Suarez homered in the second straight game and Joey Votto celebrated his 1,500th major league contest by going 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Reds.
Schebler added three RBIs for Cincinnati, which won for just the second time in
seven tries at PNC Park this season.
Anthony DeSclafani (2-1) surrendered solo home runs to Colin Moran and Gregory Polanco but otherwise kept the Pirates in check to pick up his second
victory since his return after missing the entire 2017 season with right elbow
issues. DeSclafani struck out four against three hits and a strikeout in 5 2/3
innings and more than once caught himself marveling at Hamilton.
”It’s unbelievable what he can do out there, man,” DeSclafani said. ”He saves pitchers all the time and he’s just fun to watch out there. It’s like video game
stuff. It’s unbelievable.”
Raisel Iglesias allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth and an RBI-single to Austin Meadows in the ninth but managed to record the final four
outs for his 10th save
Authentic Marcus Johansson Jersey , receiving a bit of help in the process. Iglesias entered with two on and two outs in the eighth and immediately
surrendered a double in the gap to Polanco.
Corey Dickerson scored to pull the Pirates within one but Josh Bell was out at home trying to score all the way from first after Hamilton raced to the ball
and quickly got it to shortstop Jose Peraza, who fired a strike to home.
The call stood upon review after the Pirates challenged Cincinnati catcher Curt Casali may have illegally blocked the plate.
”I was just thinking head-first slide before he caught it so it was just too late for me to redirect or think anything else at that point,” Bell said, who
added he thought Casali ”100 percent” gave him a lane to slide.
SLUMP BUSTED?
Like Hamilton, Polanco has been mired in an extended slump. The Pirates moved him to seventh in the lineup and there are signs he’s on the verge of snapping
out of it after going 3 for 3, including his ninth home run of the season.
”Right now I am not thinking about anything, just seeing the ball and hit it,” Polanco said after boosting his average to .211. ”Because my swing the last
couple days has been good. I’m not thinking now, I’m just swinging now. And when
you’re not thinking your swing is good. So you just want to continue to keep
seeing the pitches that you want to hit.”
MUSGROVE MUZZLED
Joe Musgrove (2-2) had been impressive in his first four starts for the Pirates after starting the year on the disabled list with right-shoulder
problems but the Reds jumped on him the second time through the lineup.
Cincinnati scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth and finished 4 for 9
with runners in scoring position after going 0 for 19 in the same situation over
the first two games of the series, both losses.
Musgrove was charged with six runs in 4 1/3 innings with a walk and six strikeouts as his ERA jumped from 2.16 to 3.68.
”That’s my first day game in a while,” Musgrove said after temperatures soared into the upper 80s. ”Just trying to get my body alert. It was hot out
there. I felt drained.”
UP NEXT
Reds: off Monday then host Detroit in a brief two-game interleague series starting Tuesday when Sal Romano (3-7, 5.67 ERA) faces Matthew Boyd (4-4,
3.23).
Pirates: Welcome Milwaukee to PNC Park for the first time this season when the Brewers come in for a three-game set starting Monday. Trevor Williams (5-4,
4.38 ERA) faces Jhoulys Chacin (6-1, 3.32) in the opener.
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