Jake Bauers’ marathon 12-pitch at-bat and Logan Henderson’s dominant mound presence propelled the Milwaukee Brewers to a decisive series win.
Jake Bauers and Logan Henderson were the Milwaukee Brewers' biggest contributors as this team improved to 81-49 when they took down the Atlanta Braves, 4-1.
That three-run victory is highlighted not only by a series victory against the Braves, but Milwaukee is now riding a three-game winning streak.
The Braves have fallen to 75-55, which is still an incredible record, but it's arguably nowhere near as impressive as what the Brewers have done this season, and Bauers and Henderson are a huge reason why they've been this successful.
Bauers crushed his 23rd home run of the season in a crucial at-bat while Henderson, to no surprise, added yet another quality start to his resume.
Henderson locked in after giving up an early run
A six-pitch walk got this game started, and while Ronald Acuna Jr. would strike out just four pitches later, the Braves did some first-inning damage against Henderson.
One of the Brewers' most reliable arms allowed a single after striking out Acuna Jr., and then three pitches later he gave up a double that would allow Drake Baldwin to score.
In the end, that would be the lone run the Braves scored all game. While the Brewers bullpen did a fantastic job in the final few innings, Henderson did his part in allowing just three hits throughout his next five innings.
Milwaukee's 24-year-old sensation improved to 8-2 on the year thanks to Bauers getting the party started in the third inning. Four runs isn't necessarily a ton of run support, but when the likes of Chad Patrick, DL Hall, and Aaron Ashby are firing on all cylinders behind Henderson, it proved to be more than enough.
12-pitch at-bat for Bauers changed everything
The Brewers were primed to do some damage in the third inning after Cooper Pratt, someone who recently returned from the Injured List, started the inning by reaching first base safely on a fielding error.
Neither Jackson Chourio nor Brice Turang were able to get on base, but they moved Pratt over to third base with William Contreras coming to the plate with two outs.
Contreras won a five-pitch battle, singling to left field, which provided the Brewers their first run of the game.
Now tied, 1-1, Bauers was stuck in a 2-2 count before he fouled off seven straight pitches.
After seeing five different pitch types in his at-bat, it was a 92 mph four-seam fastball that Bauers would hit a 413-foot home run off of to center field. At that point, the Brewers had taken a 3-1 lead, and they never looked back.
