PHOENIX - Sal Frelick did what Sal Frelick does on July 5: he made a game-saving play, then immediately became the target of the Brewers’ latest round of teasing.
With Milwaukee clinging to a 3-2 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Corbin Carroll up in an 0-2 count against closer Trevor Megill, the Brewers shaded Frelick toward the right-center gap. The thinking was simple enough: Carroll was less likely to be early and yank the ball. Instead, he turned on it and sent a high drive toward the line in right.
Frelick never lost it.
Pat Murphy said he thought off the bat it might leave the yard because of the bat speed Carroll put on it, but Frelick stayed with the ball all the way. He made the final out by racing to the spot and then leaping into the wall in foul territory, taking the hit with his hip against the padding.
“I just had to run far,” Frelick said. “It wasn’t the hardest catch.”
That didn’t stop the jokes from rolling in. Murphy, who has made Frelick a regular target of his clubhouse needling, had his line ready.
“Sal, always trying to make SportsCenter,” Murphy said.
Jake Bauers joined in, saying he could see the catch but didn’t understand why Frelick needed to go flying into the wall.
“I knew he caught the baseball but the guy went flying into the well when I’m pretty sure he could've just camped under it and caught it,” said first baseman Jake Bauers. “Murph gives him [crap] about that a lot, diving when he doesn’t have to dive, but that one I might be on Murph’s side.
“Sal’s my guy. I [freaking] love him. But I’m going to take Murph’s side on that one.”
Frelick’s reaction also had Megill fooled. The Brewers closer said the lack of a big celebration made the whole play even trickier to read in the moment.
“[Heck] no,” said Megill when asked if he thought Frelick caught it. “I knew there was a good chance but I didn’t want to celebrate too much before I knew. My hands were in the air, then they went down and back up again.
"I think he deked everybody in the building. Me and [Daivd Hamilton] looked at each other and shrugged.
Fantastic catch. That’s Sal.”
Brice Turang was nearby for the play too, and Frelick had a quick answer for the criticism coming from that group.
“My rebuttal for Jake Bauers and Brice Turang is probably that they don’t know what it’s like to run that fast,” Frelick said. “Especially Jake Bauers.
So he thinks that you can just stop. That’s all I got.”
Frelick also made sure to praise Megill and the bullpen, which handled five innings on July 5 and 18 ⅔ innings across Milwaukee’s three-game series win.
And when it came time to talk about Bauers again, Frelick didn’t exactly hand out a warm bouquet. Bauers had delivered the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning to decide the 3-2 win, but Frelick still found a way to keep the joke going.
“Absolutely no flowers for Jake Bauers,” he said. “I think the only reason he probably hit that homer is because I pinch-ran and went to first and he saw me out there, so he wanted to get back to the dugout so we could hug.”
In Other News...
Gary Snchez Keeps Creating One Brewers Problem They Cannot Afford
Gary Snchez has been a useful bat for the Brewers this season, but his work at the plate has come with a different kind of attention too. In a year when Milwaukee has the fewest challenges in baseball, Snchez has been one of the clubs most frequent users of them, and his willingness to push nearly every close call has become part of his profile.
The problem is that the approach has not paid off nearly enough. Snchez has piled up more lost challenges than anyone else in the league, and he is responsible for a huge share of Milwaukees hitter challenges, which can matter when a team needs to save those chances for the biggest moments. The Brewers can live with an aggressive edge from a player producing offensively, but they could use a little more selectivity if they want those challenges to count when it really matters. [Read more 🡒]
Jackson Chourio Had Brewers Fans Doing A Double Take Late
Late in the 18th inning, Jackson Chourio gave Brewers fans a rare sight when he stepped in as a left-handed hitter for the first time in his MLB career. The switch came against a slow eephus pitch from Cardinals utility man Bryan Torres, and Chourio nearly turned the moment into something bigger, sending a drive that was caught just short of the warning track.
It was the kind of odd, late-night wrinkle that can only happen in a marathon game, and both Chourio and manager Pat Murphy seemed to enjoy the novelty of it. Murphy noted how unusual the swing was, while the whole scene fit the feel of an extra-inning game that had already drifted well beyond the ordinary. [Read more 🡒]
One Brewers Bat Is Suddenly Looking Like Tonights Power Play
Jackson Chourio has been one of the Brewers most intriguing power bets lately, and the case for him on July 8 starts with how often the ball has been leaving his bat. He has 13 home runs in 57 games, and the recent surge has only sharpened the attention around him as Milwaukee keeps looking for middle-order thump that can change a game in one swing.
The matchup only adds to the appeal, with the Brewers facing the Cardinals and right-hander Michael McGreevy, who has already given up 13 homers in 17 appearances. Chourios success against right-handed pitching has been part of the conversation too, which is why he stands out in this spot even if the final result is still the kind of thing that can turn on one well-placed pitch. [Read more 🡒]