Brewers' magic number drops to 3 after 15-8 win over Diamondbacks

PHOENIX – As it turns out, the Milwaukee Brewers are good students.

On a day that began with a fiery speech from former MVP Dustin Pedroia at a team meeting, the Brewers went out hours later and played with tenacity and relentlessness in the batter's box, turning the desert into an oasis with a downpour at Chase Field on Saturday night.

Willy Adames hit a grand slam in a two-run game to break one of his own franchise records, Garrett Mitchell reached base five times and the Brewers fought their way to a 15-8 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, increasing their magic number to win the National League Central Division to three.

There could be a champagne celebration at American Family Field as early as Monday evening.

“We gave it our all tonight and just kept going,” said Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers. “You just can't ever give up.”

Milwaukee had scored a total of 24 runs in its last nine games leading up to game day. The offense cut that number in half in the first four innings on Saturday. Each of Milwaukee's first six batters reached base at least twice, and four of the top five were safely on base at least three times.

MORE: Match report | Brewers schedule | MLB table

The decisive blow was a seven-run second inning in which all the damage came with two outs and was capped by Adames hitting the Brewers' ninth grand slam of the season. The Brewers shortstop added a solo hit in the four-run fourth inning to extend his National League lead in RBIs to 107 and break his own franchise record for most home runs by a shortstop in a season with 32.

“Unbelievable. It's been incredible,” said Adames. “It's been a very special year for me and the team. I think we have a special group of guys here. It's been an incredible journey this year.”

This breakthrough came immediately after an impassioned speech by Pedroia, who spent his entire major league career in Boston but has an emotional connection to the Brewers, having played at Arizona State University under coach Pat Murphy.

He preached being relentlessly competitive with every pitch, and the Brewers resembled the former 5-foot-10 powerhouse in their play, both from the entire lineup at bat and in the field, where Sal Frelick, a Boston native who idolized Pedroia as a child, stole a home run from Arizona on the first at-bat of the game.

“I just try to win pitches and at-bats,” Mitchell said. “I try to pass the ball to the next guy. That kind of goes back to everything we talk about – trying to win pitches. We had a great conversation with Pedroia today about controlling what we can control, taking one pitch at a time, and that worked today.”

The Brewers' lead, which was 13-0 in the sixth inning, shrank to 13-8 due to the breakdown of defense and pitching.

On the mound for the Brewers, Tobias Myers didn't allow a single run in his first five innings before the D-backs hit him for two runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh inning before he could get an out.

Myers stayed in the game to gain more yardage, but eventually ran out of steam.

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It comes far too late at a critical time

Things got way too hot in the eighth inning with Hoby Milner and Enoli Paredes on the mound, though neither got much help from the defense. Seven consecutive D-backs batters reached base with one out to get within 13-8, with Geraldo Perdomo's two-run double with the bases loaded putting the Brewers firmly in the danger zone.

But Joey Ortiz stopped a liner by Luis Guillorme with a diving throw. If he had gotten past the Brewers' shortstop, the game would have been three runs ahead and the game would have been tied.

Andruw Monasterio also had a disastrous inning on the field: he kicked one ball away, which was an error, and misplayed two others that were not errors. Among other things, he missed a lame pop fly to shallow left field with the bases loaded.

“The way they played, he was the closest,” Murphy said of the pop-up that landed in no man's land. “So, yeah, it could have been his ball. 'Mona' wasn't out there a lot, he didn't play third base a lot. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a good player.”

In the ninth inning, however, a home run by William Contreras gave the Brewers a welcome reprieve. He hit a ball into the pool area just beyond the right-center field fence after narrowly missing a home run to right twice in the at-bat. It was the catcher's 22nd home run of the year, one more than last year in his first season with Milwaukee.

Homerun derby in the desert

105.9 mph. 114.1 mph. 101.3 mph. 104 mph. 105.1 mph.

These were the exit velocities of the Brewers' first five batters in the fourth inning, who fought off virtually everything reliever Dylan Floro had to offer, smashing him like he was the pregame spread.

Chourio and Contreras started with doubles off the wall before Mitchell followed with a two-run homer to left-center field, his sixth of the year.

For Mitchell, the home run was arguably part of his best day at bat this year. He was 2 for 3 with three walks, pushing his OPS to .809 on the season, and he has hit 15 of his last 48 with four doubles, two triples and four home runs.

“It feels good to go there full of confidence and trust in what I've built over the last few months,” Mitchell said. “It feels good to contribute.”

Adames followed with a solo hit to left for his second home run of the game, surpassing the franchise record he set in 2022 for most home runs by a shortstop.

Brewers hit out at D-backs starter Pfaadt

The Brewers have been in a team-wide slump at the plate for the past two weeks and have taken out their frustration on D-backs starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt.

After scoring a run in the first inning with a small-ball sacrifice fly from Contreras, the Brewers pulled off a two-out rally in the second inning that was more impressive than ever before.

With two outs and no bases, Frelick hit a ground ball through the left side of the infield for a single. Joey Ortiz followed with a single, as did Brice Turang and Chourio, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead. Contreras and Mitchell earned walks from Pfaadt, the second of which scored another run.

Adames strolled to the batting crease, ready to pounce on a pitcher who was surely trying his best not to fall behind again. Pfaadt gave him a sweeper right up the middle and Adames slammed it to left for a grand slam that put Milwaukee up 8-0 and ended the afternoon for the D'backs right-hander after seven consecutive batters had reached the ball.

Is Adames having fun?

“Probably the most of my career so far,” he said. “It was special. It was incredible. Especially because we're winning. I think that's the biggest thing.”

Sal Frelick to the rescue

On Myers' second pitch, it immediately seemed as if Corbin Carroll had tied the game at 1-1. Even seconds later, when Carroll rounded first base and right fielder Frelick was on the ground after a seemingly impossible jump attempt at the fence, all signs pointed to it being a home run.

And then Frelick's right hand shot into the air, he had the ball in his possession.

“I knew from the beginning that the ball had a chance,” said Frelick, who also prevented the game-tying home run for the final out earlier this year in Anaheim. “I just kept going. I never really had a chance to find the wall. I just jumped when I thought it was close. The wall kind of got me quicker than I thought. My body just reacted that way when I hit it. I was happy I was able to catch the ball for 'Toby.'”

In a year full of Brewers home run robberies, this one, a full-stretch grab well above the yellow padding at the top of the fence, was as impressive as any.

Brewers' magic number drops to 3 after 15-8 win over Diamondbacks

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