Yelich capitalizes on Bucs' mistake for 22nd HR

PITTSBURGH -- Christian Yelich has baseball’s best batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage since last year’s All-Star break. The most home runs and RBIs, too. So it stands to reason that when an opponent pops him up, they had better make the play.

When the Pirates didn’t do that Saturday in a back-and-forth, high-scoring game that finally ended after 13 innings with a 12-10 Brewers' win, Yelich made them pay.

“Big plays are made by big players,” said Brewers rookie second baseman Keston Hiura. “’Yeli’ is definitely a person who can change a game with one swing, and he definitely showed that tonight.”

With two runners aboard and one out in the sixth, and the Brewers already having let a 5-0 lead turn into a 7-5 deficit, Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano induced a Yelich popup into foul ground behind third base. Colin Moran drifted back and appeared to have a play until he was called off by shortstop Kevin Newman.

It was the wrong call. The baseball dropped, and Yelich returned to the batter’s box to hit the very next pitch into the right-field seats for a three-run home run that gave the Brewers an 8-7 lead. The umpires reviewed the play for fan interference, but the home run was confirmed.

It was Yelich’s Major League-leading 22nd home run this season.

“Moran’s in position to make a play, and I think Newman said, ‘You got it,’” said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. “That’s not something we want to say. You say nothing. When Moran heard a voice -- ‘Got it’ -- he peeled off. It’s like when an infielder’s going to the outfield. If the outfielder says something, they peel off. Just poor execution. That’s an out. And we paid the price heavily for it. A ball hit that high, we needed an out right there.”

The homer was really high. At 44 degrees, it was the highest launch angle on a home run in Yelich's career, and also tied the highest for any Brewers homer in the Statcast era. Chris Carter hit one with the same angle on Sept. 18, 2016.