The Milwaukee Brewers could not get it done on Friday night.
The Milwaukee Brewers fell to the Atlanta Braves on Friday, 3-2, at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Friday’s defeat marks the second loss in a row for Milwaukee. How did it happen?
A Lack of Offense
After notching just five hits in 30 at-bats and putting up two runs in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, offense was hard to come by once again for the Brewers against the second-best team in baseball.
Through its first six at-bats of the evening, Milwaukee had three strikeouts. Then, in the top of the third, it seemed some momentum was working in the Brewers’ favor as Blake Perkins and Joey Ortiz notched consecutive singles.
After Christian Yelich grounded out, the Braves chose to intentionally walk Jackson Chourio, a decision that loaded the bases. Then, Brice Turang hit a ground ball toward center field, which was picked up by shortstop Jorge Mateo. However, Mateo did not have a base to go to with the ball, and the Brewers struck first as a result.
Over the next several innings, Milwaukee's offense was able to produce hits, but they never amounted to runs. In the eighth inning, the Brewers loaded the bases with two outs thanks to singles by Garrett Mitchell and Andrew Vaughn before Jake Bauers walked, but they came up empty-handed.
A Response Comes Up Short
In the top of the ninth inning trailing 3-1 with only three more outs to work with, the Brewers gave it one last shot.
And it nearly worked.
After Gary Sanchez grounded out to lead off the frame, Yelich drew a walk that was followed up by a double from Chourio. With runners on second and third and only one out, Turang stepped up to the plate.
Turang belted a first-pitch, four-seam fastball to left field for a single, which easily scored Yelich. Behind him, Chourio was being waved home. The throw came home from left fielder Eli White, and once the ball met the glove of Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, Chourio collided with him.
However, Baldwin held on to the ball, and Chourio was called out. The Brewers challenged the call, but it was upheld. With only Turang on base, it was up to William Contreras to make something happen.
After fouling off a sinker and swinging on a changeup, Contreras quickly fell into an 0-2 hole against Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias. The third pitch from Iglesias was another changeup, which Contreras struck out on.
The beginning of the three-game set between two of MLB’s heavy hitters proved to be competitive, but the Brewers will have their hands full over the next two games.
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