Rowdy Tellez and the Brewers offense erupts for a blowout (and series) win over Blue Jays
After the Milwaukee Brewers offense sputtered yet again when facing a high-quality opponent Friday night in the Toronto Blue Jays and starting pitcher Alek Manoah, first baseman Rowdy Tellez faced the music.
“He shut us down. He shoved it down our throats,” Tellez said following a 9-4 loss. “He got out of situations. He made pitches. He’s a dog on the mound. I only played with him for like a month, but the guy comes at you.”
The response from the Brewers?
Five runs the following day against Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi, then, led by Tellez, they one-upped that in the series finale Sunday.
Milwaukee utilized a mixture of small ball and the long ball to crush starter Jose Berrios early in a 10-3 series win.
Tellez hit a two-run homer in each of the first two innings against his former team, the first coming after Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run blast of his own in the top half of the first.
"Any time you can break up a shutdown inning when they get momentum and are trying to keep momentum, and put runs on the board after they have, it’s huge," Tellez said.
"Berrios obviously didn’t have his stuff today. He left some pitches over the heart and was having trouble commanding stuff, and we made him pay.
"It was a good way to end the series for us and a good way to end the homestand going into a road trip."
The second home run, Tellez’s 13th of the season, capped a five-run second inning that was sparked by a much more old-school rally.
Tyrone Taylor led off the inning against Berrios with a hustle double, then moved to third base on Jace Peterson’s perfectly placed drag bunt. Peterson stole second, which gave the Blue Jays no play when Jonathan Davis followed with an infield hit to score Taylor.
Davis stole second and, following Christian Yelich’s RBI groundout, scored on Willy Adames’ single.
Then, Tellez made his old team pay once again.
"I think it really got us to the point where we were ahead and it’s time to go," Tellez said. "We put on a big inning against a good team and that’s what put the icing on the cake.
"We had the full wind in our sails and we were ready to go."
Brewers starter Chi Chi Gonzalez settled in following Kirk’s one-out blast in the first, facing one over the minimum over the next three innings to continue somewhat of a quirky streak.
In going four innings and allowing three runs, Gonzalez posted the exact same line for a third consecutive start. No pitcher in MLB history had ever gone four innings allowing exactly three runs before in three straight starts.
"We stuck to the guns with the sinker," Gonzalez said. "I was able to get some calls down in the zone. I had the most confidence in (catcher) Omar (Narvaez), so we didn’t shy away from the report even though I made a bad pitch and Kirk it hit out.
"Today, the offense came through. You play good defense and then the bullpen came through as well."
The Brewers tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth to reach double digits on offense for only the second time since May 11 and seventh time this season.
Adames had a three-hit day for the Brewers and was joined on base three times by Yelich and Tellez. Every player in the Brewers lineup got a hit.
In relief, four Milwaukee arms combined to throw five scoreless innings, including a pair— Jandel Gustave and Trevor Gott — making their returns from the injured list.
Brent Suter and Trevor Kelley each pitched a scoreless frame to close out the day.
"We had a great game," Gonzalez said. "Then also, the bullpen to cover five innings of scoreless baseball. Two guys come back from the IL and perform great, at their peak. It’s good to see that."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Toronto Blue Jays: game score, updates, lineup
