*Photo from Federal Baseball*
They were waiting on a milestone, and they finally got it done. Willy Adames homered and drove in 3 runs, Andrew McCutchen homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Washington Nationals with a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon in Washington.
After dropping the first two games of the series, the Brewers came out swinging in this one. They snapped their long 8 game losing streak, getting the win thanks to the contributions of Adames and McCutchen on the hitting side of things. The Brewers now possess a 34-28 record, 6 games over .500 and second place in the NL Central.
The aforementioned milestone came finally, after the losing streak ended. With the win, Brewers manager Craig Counsell picked up his 563rd managerial victory, tying him with Phil Garner as the winningest manager in Brewers history. One more win will put him over the top.
Counsell said of the milestone that "It's about players more than anything, and we've had some really, really good players that have done the heavy lifting and all that work. But I’m certainly thankful to the people that have given me the opportunity, and all the people that have allowed me to get better at the job, hopefully, the coaching staff and front office that have helped me become better at this. But most of all, it's a hat tip to the players. They're the ones that do the heavy lifting every day."
The Brewers got on the board in the 3rd inning in the series finale. It started with Adames, who socked a double to left field, bringing home Tyrone Taylor and making it a 1-0 lead for the Brewers. In the top of the 5th inning, Adames hit a two run home run to center field, putting the Brewers ahead by a 3-0 score.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Nationals got on the board thanks to a sac fly from Josh Bell, scoring Cesar Hernandez. In the 9th, McCutchen padded the lead, making it a 4-1 lead on a solo home run to center field.
Adames said of Counsell after the game that "He comes every day with the right attitude, a positive vibe. That’s what you need from the manager, to bring that positive energy and to stay focused. It’s a challenge, and how we respond is going to determine how good we are going to be. Are we going to bounce back and be a good team? Or are we going to lay down? He’s one of the best, for sure."
It was Jason Alexander who got the start for the Brewers, allowing just one run on 7 hits, lasting 4 2/3 innings. Hoby Milner got the win, pitching 1 1/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen. Brad Boxberger and Devin Williams had shutout innings before giving way to Josh Hader, who picked up his 19th save of the year in the 9th inning.
Toeing the rubber for the Nationals was Paolo Espino, who allowed one run on 4 hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. Evan Lee came on and handled 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on 3 hits. Andres Machado pitched a scoreless two innings, and Carl Edwards Jr allowed one run in the 9th inning.
Lee said of his appearance that "I didn’t have my best stuff, wasn’t very polished at all, by any means. And so when that happens, it fuels me, it gets me kind of pissed off. So I could care less about the pain. I just wanted to push on in the game and help our team get deeper in the ballgame. That was the job that I was tasked to do before the game and so, by golly, I was going to get it done."
Up next, the Nationals are back in action on Monday night, hosting the Atlanta Braves, with Josiah Gray getting the start. After a day off on Monday, the Brewers face the New York Mets on Tuesday night, with Adrian Houser taking the mound.
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