Brewers beat Rockies 5-0 to complete sweep, win 5th straight
Jun 27, 2021, 2:34 AM | Updated: 3:36 pm
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Keston Hiura homered, doubled and drove in three runs to back a sharp performance by Eric Lauer, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Lauer (2-3) struck out six over six innings of two-hit ball. After the Rockies loaded the bases with two outs in the second, Lauer retired 13 of his last 14 batters.
Omar Narváez also went deep as the NL Central-leading Brewers completed a three-game sweep and improved to 26-9 in day games, the best mark in the majors. All three games in this weekend series had afternoon starts.
The Rockies have lost six of their last seven. They fell to 6-31 away from Coors Field for the majors’ worst road record.
Hiura went 2 for 4 while showing signs of breaking out of a prolonged slump. He was robbed of a third hit on a diving catch by right fielder Yonathan Daza.
After batting .303 with a .938 OPS in 84 games as a rookie in 2019, Hiura had an NL-high 85 strikeouts last year. He has struggled even more during a 2021 season that has included two stints in the minors.
Before the Rockies came to town, Hiura was batting .127 with one homer and five RBIs in 38 games. He matched that RBI total in this three-game series while going 4 for 11 with two homers.
He hit a solo homer and a game-winning sacrifice fly on Friday as the Brewers rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Rockies 5-4 in 11 innings.
In the third inning Sunday, Hiura drove a 1-2 pitch from Chi Chi González (2-5) over the wall in left-center. Hiura’s homer traveled an estimated 423 feet.
That was it for the Brewers against González, who struck out four and walked two while allowing just three hits over five innings.
But they added to their lead once González left the game.
After Luis Urías singled to lead off the sixth, Narváez sent a 3-2 pitch from Lucas Gilbreath over the wall in right-center. Hiura brought home two runs with a two-out double off Justin Lawrence later in the inning.
Gilbreath faced only three batters, and each of them scored. Colorado’s bullpen has a 6.51 ERA over its last 10 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers 2B Kolten Wong was out of the lineup after leaving Saturday’s game early with tightness in his left calf. Manager Craig Counsell said after Saturday’s game that Wong probably wouldn’t play Sunday but added that the team was hopeful the two-time Gold Glove winner just had a cramp.
ROCKIES MOVES
The Rockies recalled right-hander Antonio Santos from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned left-hander Ben Bowden to Albuquerque. Bowden had a 1-2 record and 7.94 ERA in 21 appearances.
UP NEXT
Rockies: Open a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Monday. Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (0-1, 7.76 ERA) and Pittsburgh’s Tyler Anderson (3-7, 4.82 ERA) start in a matchup of left-handers.
Brewers: Begin a home series with the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Scheduled starters are RHP Freddy Peralta (7-2, 2.11 ERA) for the Brewers and RHP Kyle Hendricks (10-4, 3.84 ERA) for the Cubs.
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