MILWAUKEE– Colin Rea and two relievers combined for two hits and a shutout as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 2-0 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive win.
The Brewers (72-52), top of the NL Central, improved their record to 20 games over .500 (a season-high) after going 7-3 in a 10-game home series that included a four-game tie with the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and a three-game sweep of the Guardians, top of the AL Central.
Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak is the longest of the season.
Rea (11-4) held the Guardians hitless through the first 5 2/3 innings. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out five times and allowed two hits and no walks in his seven-inning outing.
“He was just an incredible anchor,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He really was. He gives you everything every time. What you see is what you get. That’s his human side, every day the same thing, every day he does everything he can to help everyone around him, no matter what the mission is. The perfect teammate. I can’t say enough about him.”
Rea praised the way Eric Haase – who was in the starting lineup as catcher for only his tenth time this season – commented on the game.
“I just thought he moved the ball around well, especially with the four- and two-seam (fastball),” Rea said. “The slider wasn’t quite as good today, so we resorted to the changeup when we needed to slow them down, so that was good too.”
Rea left the field after hitting Jhonkensy Noel with a pitch for the second time in the top of the eighth inning. Bryan Hudson came out of the bullpen and retired the next three batters in order.
With regular closer Devin Williams unavailable after pitching three times in the last four days, 30-year-old left-hander Jared Koenig took the team off the field in order in the ninth inning, earning his first career save.
“It was definitely in the back of my mind, but I just tried to focus on getting to the hitters and making my throws,” Koenig said.
Cleveland’s Ben Lively (10-8) allowed one run in each of the first two innings, but did not allow the Brewers to score again for the rest of his six-inning outing. He managed five strikeouts and allowed five hits and two walks in addition to the two runs.
In the first inning, Milwaukee’s Brice Turang hit a leadoff triple to right and scored on Willy Adames’ two-out single to center.
Sal Frelick singled with one out in the second inning, advanced to third base on a hit-and-run single by Joey Ortiz, and scored when Haase hit a ground ball to shortstop.
That was more than enough offense for Rea, who didn’t allow a single hit until Steven Kwan hit a single to left with two outs in the sixth inning.
Will Brennan followed Kwan’s base hit with a single to center that put the possible tying point on base, but Rea put an end to the danger by taking José Ramírez out of the game with a pop fly that first baseman Rhys Hoskins caught in foul territory.
“It’s a frustrating series,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “There’s no other way to say it. That’s a really good team over there and they showed why. They can shoot.”
IN HONOR OF YOUTH
Before the game, the Brewers honored Hall of Famer Robin Yount to mark the 50th anniversary of his major league debut. Yount spent his entire career with the Brewers and is considered the best player in franchise history.
Yount received a standing ovation before throwing the first pitch.
During a pregame media session with former Brewers owner and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Yount said he was “the luckiest guy in the world to be drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.”
“I love Milwaukee,” Yount said. “I love Wisconsin. It just worked out great for me.”
Next
Guardians: Monday off before beginning a three-game road series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. The scheduled starting pitchers for Tuesday are LHP Matthew Boyd (0-0, 1.69 ERA) for the Guardians and RHP Luis Gil (12-6, 3.25) for the Yankees.
Brewers: Monday off before beginning a three-game series in St. Louis on Tuesday. RHP Frankie Montas (5-8, 4.86) starts for the Brewers on Tuesday, while RHP Erick Fedde (8-6, 3.40) pitches for the Cardinals.
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