CLEVELAND – Refreshed by their first day off in more than two weeks, the Milwaukee Brewers came out swinging the lumber.
Smacking four balls out of Progressive Field, including one from each side of the plate by Eduardo Escobar and a towering grand slam by Lorenzo Cain, batting in the No. 9 spot, the Brewers pounded Cleveland into submission by a 10-3score Friday night.
In taking the opener of the interleague series, the Brewers continued to climb to new heights. For the first time in franchise history, they will wake up Saturday morning with a record that’s 32 games over .500 (87-55).
With Cincinnati
BOX SCORE: Brewers 10, Cleveland 3
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It was the Brewers’ 47th road victory of the season, tying the franchise record for most in one season, set by the 1982 American League champions (47-33). The difference there is that this Milwaukee team has 10 road games remaining to obliterate that mark.
The beneficiary of the robust attack was right-hander Adrian Houser, who was coming off the team’s first nine-inning shutout in seven years. Bouncing back from an arduous first inning not of his making, Houser allowed just one hit over six innings, with two unearned runs to go with five walks and five strikeouts.
Houser improved his record to 9-6 with a solid 3.25 earned run average. More important for the team, the Brewers are 16-7 in his starts.
The first inning was marred by defensive miscues on both sides. Brewers leadoff hitter Kolten Wong was hit by a pitch from right-hander Eli Morgan, moved to second on a deep fly to right by Escobar and to third on Christian Yelich’s grounder to first.
With Avisaíl García batting, catcher Ryan Lavarnway blocked a pitch in the dirt and without thinking scooped if up with his mask, a rules no-no. With a ruling of catcher’s interference, which counts as an error, Wong was allowed to score from third for a 1-0 lead.
A mistake-prone first inning by shortstop Luis Urías, still playing in place of injured Willy Adames, led to a 32-pitch mess for Houser. Urías threw wildly to first on Myles Straw’s leadoff grounder, and Straw promptly swiped second.
After Amed Rosario grounded out to short, José Ramirez worked Houser for a walk, then combined with Straw on a double steal. Houser struck out Franmil Reyes on a 3-2 curveball in the dirt for what should have been the third out, but Bobby Bradley – a .217 hitter – ripped a first-pitch sinker to center for a two-run single.
Urías then allowed a high bounder by Yu Chang to get by for a two-base error. Houser walked Bradley Zimmer to load the bases before finally escaping when Lavarnway grounded into a force at second.
The two errors boosted Urías’ total to 23 for the season, with five games with at least two.
The Brewers let a prime opportunity to at least draw even slip away in the second inning. Daniel Vogelbach, serving as the DH, led off with a walk but could only advance to third on Rowdy Tellez’s one-out double high off the elevated wall in left-center, holding to see if it might be caught.
With runners on second and third and one down, the Brewers had a chance to take advantage of not having the pitcher in the lineup. But Cain took a called third strike – a no-no in that situation – and Wong hit a soft liner to third to strand the runners.
But the Brewers didn’t let up on Morgan. Omar Narváez led off the fourth with a double into the right-field corner, and Urías atoned for his defensive hiccups with a towering two-run homer to left that put his club on top, 3-2.
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With that homer, the 24-year-old Urías became the seventh player in franchise history to produce at least 20 in a season before turning 25. Prince Fielder did it three times, Ryan Braun twice and Sixto Lezcano, Robin Yount, Dale Sveum and J.J. Hardy once each.
The bombardment continued when Escobar blasted Morgan’s first pitch of the fifth out to right for his 26th homer of the season. The biggest homer was yet to come, but not until a second run-scoring catcher’s interference on Lavarnway, who tipped Urías’ bat with the bases loaded later in the inning.
That would be all for Morgan, who yielded to lefty Sam Hentges. He popped up Tellez but Cain delivered this time, crushing a 423-foot grand slam deep into the stands in left to break open the game and give the Brewers a 9-2 lead.
The home run derby continued for the Brewers in the sixth when, for the second consecutive inning, Escobar led off with a first-pitch homer. This time, he did it batting right-handed, becoming the first Milwaukee hitter to accomplish that feat since Jonathan Villar in 2016.
RECORD
Overall: 87-55
Home: 40-31
Away: 47-24
COMING UP
Saturday: Brewers at Cleveland, 5:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Corbin Burnes (9-4, 2.38) vs. Cleveland RHP Zach Plesac (10-4, 4.53). TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.