Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras traded a planned day off for late-inning heroics as he crushed a pinch-hit, three-run blast to secure a sweep over the Miami Marlins.
The Milwaukee Brewers improved to 62-37 thanks to a three-run walk-off homer from William Contreras in the bottom of the ninth.
Manager Pat Murphy broke down the decision as he went against what he originally intended. Sometimes, the game plan needs to change, and that's exactly what happened in the series finale against the Miami Marlins, one that saw the Brewers prevail, 3-1.
Contreras addressed the media after he turned an expected day off into a heroic moment. Fresh off a sweep over the Marlins, the Brewers' momentum is at an all-time high.
Contreras on his walk-off home run
"It's a little bit harder," Contreras said through his translator about pinch-hitting, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "I'm not necessarily accustomed to coming into the games later on, so I think it makes it a little more difficult."
Contreras says it's something he's been able to "adapt to" and "get a little better at."
He discussed his approach in the ninth inning: "Stay short. Fairbanks is a tremendous closer, so fortunately I was able to battle enough to where he left a breaking ball in the zone."
Despite immediately falling behind in the count, 0-2, Contreras got the count to 1-2 before fouling off a pair of balls that eventually led to his homer.
Murphy chimes in
"He [Contreras] assumes that Gary [Sanchez] is going to catch all nine, but he knows that we could use him to pinch hit," said the two-time National League Manager of the Year, according to FSRWI's Hunter Baumgardt.
Murphy continued, "Some of the thinking of putting him in during the seventh was thinking that he would get two at-bats, not just one. He swung at ball four the first time up to leadoff that inning. He's tough on himself,"
"The big swing by William, you just can't make that up. That's gotta be a guy that knows he can. I hope he gains more and more confidence. This kid is just scratching the surface of how good this kid can be."
Murphy knew Contreras had to go through with the All-Star festivities, but he was aware that Contreras' legs felt good and he was confident that he could help the team during his pinch-hit at-bats.
Even though Contreras "savors" his off-days, according to Murphy, this is one that he won't soon forget.
The Brewers' nine-game home-stand continues on Monday, July 20, when Freddy Peralta and the New York Mets come to town.
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