MILWAUKEE — Based on the way the Brewers fared against Minnesota’s pitching for much of Saturday night at American Family Field, pulling off a win was going to require key moments from unexpected help. Many of Milwaukee’s key bats spent the night struggling against starter Taj Bradley and the rest of the Twins’ staff.
It was only fitting, then, that the biggest moments in the Brewers’ 4-3 win came from two players who weren’t even in the starting lineup.
The first thing Milwaukee had to do was erase an early 3-1 deficit. That mission was accomplished thanks in part to David Hamilton, who only came into the game due to Joey Ortiz departing after the third with neck tightness.
Hamilton, in his first at-bat of the night, drew a crucial eight-pitch, two-out walk against Bradley in the fourth, loading the bases and setting the table for Brice Turang’s game-tying two-run single.
The game remained knotted at 3 until the eighth, when William Contreras opened the frame with a leadoff single. From there, pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge — who just recently returned after suffering a nasty leg injury in May — stole second to put himself in scoring position for Andrew Vaughn’s go-ahead single.
Milwaukee was in a position to rally thanks in part to a gritty outing on the mound from starter Robert Gasser. The rookie southpaw scuffled against a Twins lineup that consistently jumped all over his four-seamer. After dancing around trouble in the first, Gasser allowed three runs and plenty of hard contact during a three-run second inning in which he faced eight Minnesota hitters.
But the lefty made a crucial pivot after that, leaning more heavily into his sweeper and using his changeup more often than ever before while decreasing his fastball usage. The move proved pivotal, as Gasser held Minnesota scoreless for the rest of his outing. Despite giving up seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, Gasser ensured three runs were all the Twins were able to tally off him, setting the table for Milwaukee’s comeback.
