The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday 9-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Wednesday's win also marks a series victory for the Brewers, as they have now won two of three games in the set. So, how did they do it?

After Tuesday’s series-opening game failed to yield much offense for either team, the Brewers took advantage in the second game.

As it has done all year, Milwaukee’s offense attacked in bunches, scoring three runs in the first inning alone. Christian Yelich got the evening started with a solo home run off Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams to left center field, marking his fifth of the season. 

Then, Sal Frelick hit a two-run double to drive in William Contreras and Jake Bauers to make it a 3-0 game. After right-hander Brandon Sproat struck out two of the three batters he faced in the top of the second inning, the Brewers came back for more.

In the bottom of the second, rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a lead-off single, marking his first MLB hit after he made his debut on Tuesday. Subsequently, David Hamilton advanced Pratt to second base with a sacrifice bunt. 

With Pratt on second, Yelich delivered again. This time, it was in the form of an RBI single to center field that brought Pratt home. 

Jackson Chourio was up next, and though he grounded out, he was able to advance Yelich to third. With Yelich 90 feet away from home plate, Bryce Turang launched a double to left field, his 15th of the season, to score Yelich and cap off a two-run inning.

With a comfortable 5-0 lead in tow, Sproat continued to deal early.

After striking out two of the three batters he faced to open the game, Sproat repeated the effort in the second inning. In the third, he opened with a strike out before forcing Petey Halpin to fly out. 

To end the frame, Garrett Mitchell made a diving catch on a line drive off the bat of Steven Kwan. Sproat was moving along, having not allowed a hit yet as the Brewers went into the bottom of the third.

Then, things got ugly.

After the Brewers’ side was retired, Sproat opened the fourth with a walk. Afterward, he allowed a single, which prompted a mound visit.

Things did not get better as Sproat proceeded to walk Brayan Rocchio to load the bases. He managed to strike out Rhys Hoskins, but he followed up by allowing Daniel Schneeman to hit a grand slam.

Before the Brewers knew it, their five-run lead had been trimmed to one. To make matters worse, Sproat left the game with what appeared to be an injury. He was replaced by Chad Patrick, and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported that the Brewers said Sproat left the game due to cramping in his right hamstring.

After allowing a walk, Patrick was able to get out of the frame. In the bottom of the fourth, his offense backed him up.

After Pratt struck out, Hamilton hit a single. Yelich ended up striking out afterward, which cooled off his hot start, and it was up to Chourio to make something happen.

He did.

With an 0-2 count against him, Chourio swung on a 93 mph cutter high in the zone and took Williams deep to right field for a two run home run. After having their large lead threatened just minutes earlier, the Brewers were comfortably back on top.

In the top of the fifth, Patrick would allow a double, and that ended up being his only blemish the rest of his outing, as he struck out the three other batters he faced. Patrick went on to pitch 3.1 shutout innings while striking out seven batters while allowing only one hit and one walk.

The Brewers knocked in two more runs in the bottom of the eighth for added insurance, and one of the runs came off the bat of Pratt in the form of an RBI single, marking the first RBI of his MLB career on the same night he got his first hit.

After Aaron Ashby provided an inning out of the bullpen for Milwaukee, Grant Anderson finished the job, and the Brewers won comfortably. Now, they will have a chance to sweep Cleveland on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. CT.

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