*Photo from USA Today*
Milwaukee leads series 1-0
When they needed offense the most, in the midst of a 0-0 stalemate, Milwaukee decided to get Rowdy. Rowdy Tellez, that is. Tellez homered, Corbin Burnes starred, and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Friday afternoon.
With the win, the Brewers took a 1-0 series lead on the Braves the only way they know how to do it. That's by getting outstanding pitching, and just enough offense to get the job done. Game one was seemingly a carbon copy of how they won the majority of their games this season, but if it's working, why not keep doing it?
Burnes said of the win that "We worked all year, and to get to this point to try to get Game 1 in this series was going to be huge. I was doing whatever I could out there, trying to find something to just keep trying to throw zeros to give us a chance to win. And eventually, we got that opportunity."
The game was knotted at 0-0 all throughout the game, until the 7th inning that is. Tellez stepped up and whacked a two run home run to center field, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead and sending the crowd into a frenzy. The Braves got a run back in the 8th, when Joc Pederson hit an opposite field solo home run to left field, but they couldn't do much else against the Brewers pitching staff.
Despite an excellent start by Burnes, it was Adrian Houser who got the win, allowing the home run to Pederson in the 8th, but otherwise pitching a good two innings of relief. Burnes himself lasted 6 shutout innings, allowing two hits and 3 walks, while striking out 6 hitters. Josh Hader nailed it down in the 9th for his first save of the postseason.
Hader said of the efforts of the pitching staff that "It was incredible. Getting out of that first inning for Corbin with a zero was huge. After that, he just settled in and continued to do what he’s been doing all season. Then, having Houser come out and get ground balls, get outs for two innings, you couldn’t ask for much better. I just finished it out."
On the Braves side, Charlie Morton got the loss despite an excellent start, his only hiccup being the 7th inning home run by Tellez. He otherwise allowed 3 hits and one walk while fanning 9 hitters. Luke Jackson finished the 7th for Morton with a clean appearance, and Tyler Matzek worked a scoreless 8th inning as well.
Asked if he considered pulling Morton after 6 innings, Braves manager Brian Snitker said "Not at all. I talked to him. He said he felt good. If he'd have thrown 10 or 15 more pitches, I probably wouldn't have sent him out after the 6th. But I thought he was in an area where all year long we've let him go back out."
Game two of the series gets underway on Saturday afternoon, with the Brewers trotting out Brandon Woodruff as they look to keep the pitching humming along. The Braves look to even the series with Max Fried getting the start.
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