Mitchell's bruised forearm can't overshadow memories he'll take from Little League Classic

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The Brewers would have rather departed America’s youth baseball mecca with a win, but instead they left the Little Leaguers in attendance with a couple of lessons.

Sometimes you lose.

And sometimes it hurts, too.

The Brewers absorbed some blows in Sunday’s Little League Classic beyond the sting of a 4-2 loss to the Braves at Historic Bowman Field, as center fielder Garrett Mitchell left the game in the fourth inning with a bruised right forearm and right fielder Jake Bauers limped through the final two innings after fouling a pitch off his right foot.

For Mitchell at least, none of that dampened the event. Not the bumps and bruises, not the William Contreras drive in the bottom of the ninth which might have carried for a walk-off home run at American Family Field, but went for a deep flyout in the thick, cool north-central Pennsylvania air, and not even the pregame rain that sent the Brewers scurrying for cover in the dugout.

“I think this whole day is awesome,” Mitchell said. “The beginning of the day, getting to hang out with the kids, is the biggest part. Then getting to play a game afterward, I don’t know, it took me back to my childhood. I feel like I said it a lot today. It was like being a kid and having the ‘I want to be Major League baseball player’ aspirations. Being in the position we’re in now, it was really neat.

“What they’re able to put on here and how quickly it comes together, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

Rookie outfielder Luis Lara took over on defense in the fifth for Mitchell, who said he was hit on the belly of his right wrist while squaring to bunt against Braves starter Tyler Mahle. A 27-year-old 2020 first-round Draft pick, Mitchell’s health this season has been a leading factor in his breakout. He’s already played in a career-high 118 games and has set career highs in runs (54), home runs (nine), RBIs (54) and stolen bases (12).

Historic Bowman Field hosts only one Major League game per year, but it was outfitted for this event with all of the medical facilities a team would need. The Brewers’ head physician, Dr. William Raasch, was along for the trip. And the X-ray provided Mitchell with peace of mind.

“It hurt. It didn’t feel good. But it’s OK,” he said.

Lara wound up contributing an RBI triple in the eighth that briefly cut the Brewers’ deficit to 3-2, but Michael Harris II homered off Aaron Ashby in the ninth. A two-on, no-out rally in the bottom of that inning fizzled when Contreras’ booming fly ball died at the warning track and Bauers hit a bouncer back to Braves closer Raisel Iglesias for a game-ending double play.

The Brewers were left to lament other close calls. Their great plays on defense -- third baseman David Hamilton’s slick double play in the third when he stepped on second and threw to first being arguably the best of them -- was offset by some plays they didn’t make. Sure-handed shortstop Joey Ortiz couldn’t convert Ozzie Albies’ second-inning infield hit into an out, and Albies eventually scored. Hamilton slipped while fielding Sean Murphy’s chopper to third in the fourth and it went for an RBI infield single. And first baseman Andrew Vaughn was charged with an error on Harris’ run-scoring bouncer in the sixth.

All of those bouncing baseballs were opportunities to show the Little Leaguers a thing or two (or three) about fundamentals. The Brewers couldn’t convert.

“We played unusually sloppy defense,” manager Pat Murphy said. “Take nothing away from the Braves, they swung the bats great. But that’s how it happened.”

Yes, it was a long day. The Brewers traveled Saturday night to New York, the site of a series against the Mets that begins Tuesday night. Then they were wheels up again Sunday morning in time to land at 11:37 a.m. in Williamsport, where they immediately were surrounded by Little Leaguers for the next two and a half hours.

Even for players with boundless energy like 21-year-old Lara, it was a lot. But in the best kind of way.

“It’s the first time I’ve landed in a place and seen a lot of kids waiting,” Lara said. “It was very special to see all those kids’ emotions, to be part of the big league club. It was very special to me.”

Ditto for Mitchell, a Type 1 diabetic who monitors rest and sleep as closely as any player on the roster.

“I was definitely a lot more tired, but for this experience, you had enough energy to come out here and play,” he said. “In terms of [being compared to] a normal day, how did it feel? Definitely a little more challenging. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. Today was awesome.”