PHOENIX -- A pair of rookies made sure the Milwaukee Brewers never stood much of a chance.
Now the comeback-king Arizona Diamondbacks have one.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a grand slam off Shaun Marcum following an intentional walk and fellow rookie Josh Collmenter dominated Milwaukee again, helping the Diamondbacks beat the Brewers 8-1 Tuesday night to prevent a three-game sweep in their NL division series.
Seemingly in command after winning the first two games at home, the Brewers were outhit and outpitched in Game 3, giving life to a team that had a major league-best 48 comeback wins during the regular season.
Game 4 is Wednesday night at Arizona, with Milwaukee's Randy Wolf facing fellow lefty Joe Saunders.
At least the Brewers won't have long to stew after this ugly loss. And boy, was it was ugly.
Marcum's late-season struggles followed him into the playoffs.
The right-hander who had been so good on the road ? 8-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 16 games ? allowed eight runs and six hits over 4 2-3 innings. This after ending the season 1-2 with a 6.84 ERA over his final four starts.
Milwaukee's power pair of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun didn't help him much, finishing 1 for 6 after going a combined 9 for 16 with two homers, six RBIs and six runs in the first two games. Fielder had the only hit between them with an infield single in the ninth, just the third hit by the Brewers overall.
Collmenter had something to do with it.
The hatchet-throwing right-hander had two impressive outings against Milwaukee during the regular season and kept it going in the playoffs, holding the Brewers to Corey Hart's leadoff homer in the third inning and one other hit over seven. He retired 15 of the last 16 hitters he faced and set an Arizona rookie postseason record with six strikeouts.
Most of Milwaukee's problems, though, came on the mound as Arizona's bats snapped to life after a quiet start to the series.
Just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position while losing the first two games, the Diamondbacks didn't waste any time sending runners around once they got home to the desert.
Miguel Montero, who finished with three RBIs, got it started with a run-scoring double in the first inning and Goldschmidt followed with an RBI single. Montero did it again in the third against Marcum, lining a run-scoring single to put Arizona up 3-1.
Then came Goldschmidt's thunderous shot that had just enough oomph.
Strolling up to chants of "Goldschmidt! Goldschmidt!" in the fifth inning after Marcum intentionally walked Montero to load the bases, the rookie who was still in Double-A at midseason lifted a shot to right-center that cleared the wall by inches.
The first grand slam in Diamondbacks postseason history put Arizona up 8-1 and sent the already-juiced crowd into a frenzy that lasted until Goldschmidt came out for a curtain call to mark his five-RBI game.
Monsters no more, at least for one night, the Brewers are hoping to get back into "Beast Mode" as they try to win a postseason series for the first time since their run to the 1982 World Series.
Milwaukee Brewers v Arizona Diamondbacks
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 04: Infielder Rickie Weeks #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts to the call after Willie Bloomquist #18 of the Arizona Diamondbacks stole second base during the first inning of Game Three of the National League Division Series at Chase Field on October 4, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Brewers 8-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
MORE SLIDESHOWS
Milwaukee Brewers v Arizona Diamondbacks
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 04: Infielder Rickie Weeks #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts to the call after Willie Bloomquist #18 of the Arizona Diamondbacks stole second base during the first inning of Game Three of the National League Division Series at Chase Field on October 4, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Brewers 8-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });bluegrass festival texas a m cochlear implant navy football navy football 50/50 50/50
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.