Pat Murphy calls them the ‘Woodpeckers.’
The rest of baseball may soon be calling them inevitable.
The Milwaukee Brewers climbed back from a five-run deficit on August 10 to beat the New York Mets, 7-6, on an Isaac Collins walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Collins, the out-of-nowhere rookie-of-the-year candidate who so perfectly embodies these Brewers perhaps better than anyone else, reached out and flipped a two-strike slider from Mets closer Edwin Díaz 363 feet to right, just far enough to clear the outstretched glove of a leaping Juan Soto in right.
BOX SCORE:Brewers 7, Mets 6
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After comeback wins in the first two games against the Mets, the Brewers trailed, 5-0, in the fourth inning after the Mets pummeled Quinn Priester, who had a rare off-day and allowed six runs in total.
But William Contreras hit two home runs and Joey Ortiz had two clutch two-out RBI hits as the offense clawed back to tie the game by the eighth.
As DL Hall and Nick Mears held the fort down in relief, going 4 2/3 innings scoreless, Collins led off the ninth against Díaz and created just the latest memorable moment in this summer of entertainment.
After falling behind, 1-2, in the count, Collins took a fastball off the plate and got a hanging slider, one he managed to stay back on just enough to clip it 363 feet and into the field-level patio area beyond the wall.
The Brewers extended their winning streak to nine games and pushed their MLB-best record to 73-44 with the swing from Collins, who has transformed from little-known former minor league Rule 5 pick to deserving front runner for National League rookie of the year
The Brewers have done it… again
Uncanny. Absurd. Inexplicable.
Pick a synonym, any synonym, to describe the way this Brewers team just finds a way to find a way seemingly every day.
Traling by a run entering the bottom of the eighth, Milwaukee scratched out a tally on a Joey Ortiz two-out single to tie the game
After falling behind in the count with two strikes, Ortiz remained in the fight enough to pound a two-hopper against reliever Ryan Helsley that deflected off the glove of first baseman Pete Alonso and into right field to score Brice Turang, who walked as a pinch hitter.
Facing closer Edwin Diaz, Anthony Seigler smoked a 100.1 mph liner that found the back of Alonso’s glove on a dive, a rare dose of bad luck for the Brewers.
This time, Andrew Vaughn doesn’t come through
For what seems like the first time since he joined the Brewers, Andrew Vaughn could not come through in a critical moment.
With runners on the corners and one out while trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh, Vaughn swung at a first-pitch sinker from Tyler Rogers on the inside corner and pounded it into the ground to second for a tailor-made double play.
William Contreras has figured it out
William Contreras told reporters after his clutch home run in the win August 9 that he was feeling like himself again at last.
Less than 24 hours later, he sure looked like he is.
Contreras’ second homer in as many innings brought the Brewers back within 6-5 after trailing by five runs early. Following Isaac Collins’ flare single to open the frame, Contreras went with a 2-2 cutter on the outer half and sliced it to right, keeping it just inside the pole and out for his 12th home run of the season.
Contreras now has six homers in his last 10 games after going 34 games without one.
Brewers get back in the game in the fourth
Even after trailing by five and without three of their best hitters in the lineup, the Brewers don’t ever quit.
The latest example came in the fourth inning as they put up a three-spot on Mets lefty Sean Manaea. The rally began when William Contreras pulled a solo homer to open the inning, his second dinger in three at-bats dating back to last night.
With two outs and Andruw Monasterio on first, Danny Jansen doubled to left and Brandon Lockridge followed with a walk to load the bases for Joey Ortiz, who continues to find himself at the plate with the bags juiced. In his 23rd bases-loaded at-bat this year, Ortiz worked Manaea for a seven-pitch at-bat before lacing a two-run single through the left side of the infield to draw within 5-3.
Mets pounce on Quinn Priester early
Quinn Priester threw the first two pitches of the game for strikes, but from there things unraveled on him quickly.
Priester hit Francisco Lindor in the leg with a 2-2 sinker, then allowed him to get a massive jump and steal second base. Juan Soto followed with a seeing-eye RBI single that Andruw Monasterio, starting at second base with Brice Turang getting the day off, couldn’t get to and swiped second himself.
Priester walked Brandon Nimmo on four pitches and, even though Pete Alonso followed with a double play grounder, the Brewers right-hander still couldn’t esacpe without further damage as Jeff McNeil roped a single to right to plate Soto.
The first four balls the Mets put in play were all hit at 95 mph or harder before Cedric Mullins broke his bat on a grounder to end the first.
The next ball hit by New York, though, was another rocket: a 106.1 mph laser out to left off the bat of Brett Baty that made it a 3-0 game to lead off the second.
The Mets would eventually make it five innings of scoring against Priester.
In the third, Pete Alonso doubled and scored on Ronny Mauricio’s two-out single; the Brewers had a chance to get Alonso out at the plate but Brandon Lockridge’s throw from right field was wild.
Cedric Mullins then opened the fourth with the Mets’ second booming opposite-field homer of the afternoon to push the lead to 5-0.
The afternoon came to a frustrating end for Priester in the fifth as Soto singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an Alonso bloop double off the very end of his bat.
American Family Field flooding update, road closures
The Brewers announced Sunday morning that some access roads to American Family Field and some parking lots were affected by the overnight flooding.
Read the complete impact of the flooding on access to American Family Field, how to get to the stadium as well as refund information here.
What time is the Brewers game today
Time: 1:10 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineup
- Caleb Durbin 3B
- Isaac Collins LF
- William Contreras DH
- Andrew Vaughn 1B
- Blake Perkins CF
- Andruw Monasterio 2B
- Danny Jansen C
- Brandon Lockridge RF
- Joey Ortiz SS
Mets lineup
- Francisco Lindor SS
- Juan Soto RF
- Brandon Nimmo LF
- Pete Alonso 1B
- Jeff McNeil DH
- Ronny Mauricio 3B
- Cedric Mullins CF
- Brett Baty 2B
- Luis Torrens C
Brewers schedule
Brewers vs. Pirates, Aug. 11, 6:40 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Pittsburgh TBA TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, MLB Network. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Pirates, Aug. 12, 6:40 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Pittsburgh TBA TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Pirates, Aug. 13, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Pittsburgh TBA TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
