Brice Turang keeps pushing his way toward a milestone, and the Brewers keep piling up wins behind him.
On Saturday night, Turang drove in two more runs, launched his 21st homer of the season and moved to within one RBI of 100 for the first time in his career as Milwaukee edged the Cardinals 3-2. The victory was the Brewers’ 102nd of the regular season, extending their franchise record.
The game started with Dustin May trying to make one last impression before the regular season ends. He opened with a sharp first inning, punching out a pair of hitters while hitting 99 MPH. After that, though, the Cardinals started to string things together.
May ran into trouble in the second inning when he allowed two singles and a walk, and that sequence led to St. Louis grabbing a 1-0 lead. In the third, Alec Burleson added to it with a towering home run that left the bat at 111 MPH, stretching the Cardinals’ advantage to 2-0.
Milwaukee answered right away in the bottom of the third. Brandon Lockridge, back in the lineup for his first at-bat after taking the roster spot of Andrew Vaughn, who was placed on the IL with an illness, ripped a double to right. David Hamilton followed with a bunt that moved him to third, and Lockridge scored on Jackson Chourio’s single.
That still wasn’t enough to keep May in the game. His night ended after three innings. He struck out five, but the Brewers had seen enough mistakes to move on.
From there, Pat Murphy handed the ball to Kyle Harrison, and that decision paid off. Harrison worked two innings, struck out four and allowed only a hit by pitch.
Murphy had said Friday that he was seeing signs of improvement, but wanted the results to match what he was seeing. On Saturday, they did.
“Harrison was sharp. He wasn’t thinking, he was just attacking.
He was sharp, didn’t matter righty, lefty. The ball had the explosion to it that it had early in the season.
His breaking ball was way more convicted. I was impressed.”
Pat Murphy said.
The Brewers then flipped the game in the fifth. After Lockridge and Hamilton struck out, Chourio singled and Turang followed by hammering his 21st homer, driving in his 98th and 99th RBIs and putting Milwaukee in front 3-2.
Turang is now one stolen base away from a 20-20 season and one RBI shy of 100 for the first time in his career.
“Yeah, that’s special. He’s such a baseball kid.
He responds so well. That’s the thing that’s most impressive about our group.
Brice epitomizes this. He can go through a lull and he doesn’t get too down, he just knows how to respond.”
Murphy said.
Milwaukee’s bullpen took it from there. JoJo Romero, Antonio Senzatela and Aaron Ashby combined to get through the final four innings in order, and the Cardinals never reached base again after Bryan Torres was hit by Harrison in the fourth.
The Brewers improved to 102 wins, while the Cardinals fell to 77-84. With one game left in the regular season, plenty still hangs in the balance in the playoff race, but Milwaukee already has everything it can control secured.
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