Montas' great start ruined by home run and weak offense

Result

In a surprising pitcher's duel, Frankie Montas dominated the Rockies' lineup for much of the evening. The only caveat? A three-run home run that put the Brewers behind 3-1.

The final haul for Montas looked solid. A six-inning, three-run performance still qualifies as a good start, but after he hit double-digit strikeouts for the first time since May 26, 2022, it was almost that much more.

Montas handled the Rockies' lineup with ease, often even confusing hitters with his fastballs when he caught batters looking right down the middle. It was an effective night for Montas, marred only by three walks and a blemish at the end of his night.

After five innings without a single hit, a double by Ezequiel Tovar and a walk by Ryan McMahon put Montas in danger on the bases with just one out. A ground out put both runners in scoring position, but he was getting closer to getting out of trouble.

Then Michael Toglia stepped up to bat. Toglia is a prolific power hitter, but had a .185 batting average since August 20. Montas' first pitch sinker was as mediocre as could be, and Toglia hit it 428 feet. It was one of the few balls the Rockies hit hard against Montas all night.

It was a disappointing moment for Montas' otherwise best start as a Brewer. If more of his 10-strikeout potential were in there, it would be a huge boost to the Brewers' rotation down the stretch. Of course, it's the Rockies, but Montas' strikeout numbers have been steadily climbing. He now has at least six strikeouts in four of his last six games.

On the other side of this low-scoring matchup was Rockies starter Ryan Feltner. He entered with a 5.11 ERA, but it certainly didn't look like that in this game. He placed his pitches well and fiddled around in the bottom of the zone to stifle almost any offense. In six innings against Feltner, the Brewers managed just one run and two hits.

It was a largely stress-free start for Feltner, but the Brewers pulled off one of their typical comebacks in the second inning. Two walks, two stolen bases and an RBI single from Joey Ortiz gave the Brewers their first run of the evening.

Ortiz played a crucial role in the Brewers' next run, much later in the seventh inning. It was this “small ball” approach that helped the Brewers make their comeback. Blake Perkins hit a single to right field and then got a stolen base, even against relief pitcher Seth Halvorsen with a 101 mph pitch. On a two-strike count, Ortiz hit a grounder up the middle on a nearly impossible play for the second baseman.

The fielder made the throw anyway and the offline throw allowed Perkins to run to home plate unhindered.

The offense seemed futile for most of the evening. Although the Rockies managed two hits in the first eight innings, the Brewers were still behind. A leadoff walk by Jackson Chourio in the eighth inning could have been promising, but was quickly nullified by a double play ball by William Contreras.

When the Brewers put the ball in play, it simply fell at the feet of the Rockies defenders.

The Brewers' offensive weakness continued, and they were trailing 3-2 late in the game. Although relievers don't deserve as much praise as home run hitters, tonight saw another heroic performance from Aaron Ashby. His breaking pitches continue to disrupt the opposing batting order. Three scoreless innings and four strikeouts later, Ashby gave the Brewers one last chance. His terrific streak of late has lowered his ERA to 2.75 on the season. Since August 25, Ashby has 12 ²⁄₃ innings without allowing a run.

The Brewers were unable to capitalize on this opportunity. They resisted, but it ended with a deflationary out on the bases.

Jake Bauers worked a walk and was replaced by pinch hitter Brewer Hicklen. He quickly ran to second base, making his first career stolen base.

That put the tying point in batting position with just one out. Rhys Hoskins fought a seven-pitch at-bat against reliever Tyler Kinley. It ended in a flyout, but Hicklen ran to third base.

Normally, with two outs, it's not that important to go to third base in that position, since a sacrifice fly wouldn't score the runner in that spot. But Hicklen took the risk and was thrown out by a few inches. It was so close that the umpires spent a lot of time reviewing the play, but ultimately the Brewers were sent home with a narrow 3-2 loss.

It was another night where a lackluster offense let down a valuable pitching effort. The Brewers scored nine runs against the Cardinals in the first game of this series, but have now played 31 innings with 15 hits and just eight runs.

Milwaukee will face the Rockies again tomorrow at 6:10 p.m. Tobias Myers is expected to start against Ty Blach.