The Milwaukee Brewers finished off their sweep of the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, but the ninth inning turned a comfortable win into a messy finish.
Milwaukee had already built a commanding lead early. Christian Yelich got things rolling with a three-run home run in the first inning, then Jackson Chourio and William Contreras added home runs in a three-run second to keep the pressure on Chicago. By the time the game settled in, the Brewers were in firm control behind another strong outing from Logan Henderson.
That control held through most of the night. JJ Romero handled the sixth and seventh innings without allowing a run, and with Milwaukee ahead 8-1, manager Pat Murphy turned to Brandon Sproat in the eighth.
Sproat got through that inning without giving up a run, though it was not a clean frame. Murphy stayed with him for the ninth, and that decision unraveled fast.
Sproat walked four straight batters, and one run crossed the plate before Abner Uribe was summoned with the bases loaded and one out. Uribe couldn’t fully stop the bleeding, but the Brewers still escaped with an 8-6 victory and a ten-game lead over the Cubs in the National League Central Division.
Afterward, Murphy didn’t hold back.
“It’s unacceptable. You got to throw the ball in the plate or you can’t be a major league pitcher,” he told reporters after the game.
Sproat’s outing was especially frustrating because this wasn’t the first time control had been an issue. He began the season in Milwaukee’s rotation, but those same problems eventually sent him down to Triple-A.
On Wednesday, he was charged with four earned runs in 1.1 innings, pushing his season ERA to 5.57. For a Brewers club that owns the best record in baseball and has World Series aspirations, that kind of outing stands out for all the wrong reasons.
At this point, it would be a surprise to see Sproat back on the mound for Milwaukee this year. If Murphy didn’t trust him with a seven-run cushion, there’s not much reason to expect him in a tighter spot.
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