Brewers finding ways to win, while Nationals' struggles continue
The potential tying run had just reached base Saturday when Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin had a premonition.
'We felt like we were going to win the game,' he said.
And he was right, thanks to his RBI single that capped a three-run rally that gave them a 6-5 win over Washington. The comeback victory put the Brewers in position to go into the All-Star break with a sweep of the visiting Nationals with a win on Sunday.
It was the sixth straight win for Milwaukee, which again is very successful despite flying under the radar. At 55-40, the Brewers are just a game behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central. The Brewers are 24-12 since June 1, the second-best record in baseball in that span behind only Toronto (25-12).
How does second-year manager Pat Murphy explain it?
'That's the great thing about the right people,' he said. 'They work hard and know what they have to do to stick around.'
One of those people is newly minted first baseman Andrew Vaughn, floundering with the White Sox when Milwaukee acquired him for pitcher Aaron Civale on June 13. Called up Monday when first baseman Rhys Hoskins was placed on the injured list, all Vaughn has done in his first five games is knock in 10 runs, including four on Saturday with a pair of two-run doubles.
'He's fit right in,' Durbin said of Vaughn.
The Brewers will aim to sweep the series behind Freddy Peralta (10-4, 2.74 ERA), who's coming off a 9-1 home victory Monday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Peralta sailed through six shutout innings, scattering five hits and walking one while whiffing seven.
He's 3-3 with a 6.75 earned run average in 32 innings over seven career outings (five starts) against Washington.
Meanwhile, the Nationals will counter with Jake Irvin (7-4, 4.78), who last worked on Tuesday night during a 4-2 loss in St. Louis. The right-hander was charged with four runs off six hits and four walks in six innings, fanning three.
Irvin has struggled in four career starts against Milwaukee, going 0-3 with a 7.32 ERA in 19 2/3 innings over four starts.
Washington fell to 1-4 under interim manager Miguel Cairo after Saturday's loss, one of the tougher ones the Nationals have had to digest. It put a damper on the biggest day in the young MLB career of rookie third baseman Brady House, who homered twice and drove in three runs.
House's first MLB homer was a 427-foot blast to left off a hanging sweeper from Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff in the fourth. House admitted that he didn't remember what pitch it was.
'When I go to bat, it's like I almost black out,' he said. 'Even the trip around the bases ... I felt like I was in a fog.'
There was one positive to the day for House, aside from his homers. A pair of Brewers fans came down to see him after the game bearing the first homer he slugged and gave him the ball.
'Very appreciative that they took the time to come down and give me the ball,' he said. 'I'm going to give that to my parents for sure.'
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