MILWAUKEE -- Christian Yelich hit a leadoff homer, Jackson Chourio went deep for the sixth time in the last seven games and rookie Cooper Pratt logged his first career hits, first RBI and first stolen base as the Brewers slugged their way through brief concerns about another starting pitching injury.
Right-hander Brandon Sproat went from the early stages of a perfect game to an early exit due to right hamstring cramping in Milwaukee’s 9-4 win over Cleveland on Wednesday night at American Family Field. But that was more an annoyance than a concern, said Sproat, who anticipates following his normal routine in the coming days and making his next scheduled start on time.
“As dumb as it sounds to be a cramp, it really sucks, but it’s the best thing,” Sproat said. “But it kind of seems soft, almost.”
Sproat’s teammates picked him up. Right-hander Chad Patrick bounced back from a couple of uncharacteristically poor outings to strike out seven in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and Brewers hitters provided plenty of support to push the club to 45-26 and a season-high 19 games over .500.
It was a team effort, from the veteran Yelich hitting his 10th career leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning to Pratt going 2-for-4 with a single and a run scored in the second and a run-scoring single and a stolen base in the eighth inning of his second MLB game.
Then, there was Chourio, who remains red-hot. The home run was his fourth of the homestand, his sixth in the last seven games and his eighth in June, tied with the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz and the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong for most in the Majors this month. Chourio helped the Brewers hang a career-high seven earned runs on Guardians starter Gavin Williams, who came into the game 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA.
“We can do that at times when we’re staying disciplined,” manager Pat Murphy said.
“The offense tonight was incredible," Sproat said. “To pull out a win tonight, it makes it special.”
It was enough to temporarily assuage concern about Sproat, who was coming off six quality innings in an unfriendly pitching environment against the A’s in Las Vegas on June 10. He retired the first nine Guardians hitters he faced and was working with a 5-0 lead when he ran into major trouble.
The fourth inning began with a walk, a single and another walk before Sproat struck out Rhys Hoskins to give himself an opportunity for escape. Instead, Cleveland third baseman Daniel Schneemann hit a 2-2 curveball for a grand slam that cut the Brewers’ lead to 5-4.
Sproat retired David Fry on a popout and threw an 0-1 fastball to Steven Kwan that missed the zone and prompted a visit from head athletic trainer Brad Epstein. Sproat promptly left the game in favor of emergency reliever Patrick.
“It cramped that whole fourth inning, whenever my back leg would swing around,” Sproat said. “That hamstring wanted to cramp up on me. I was trying to push through it, but it got worse as I kept going on. A long inning didn’t help.”
The Brewers can ill afford to lose any more pitching.
Veteran Brandon Woodruff is on the cusp of returning next week from right shoulder issues, but Milwaukee is also without starters Quinn Priester (thoracic outlet syndrome), Logan Henderson (back strain), Coleman Crow (right forearm flexor strain) and Carlos Rodriguez (right shoulder) in addition to Minor League left-hander Tate Kuehner, who is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks with left elbow soreness.
Sproat isn’t the first Brewers pitcher to deal with cramping this season. Jacob Misiorowski saw a pair of early-season starts cut short by the same issue, but he didn’t miss a turn in the rotation and has been able to amend his nutrition and hydration to become the staff’s unquestioned ace.
Now, Sproat will try to navigate a similar comeback.
“He’s fine,” Murphy said. “He’ll be able to make his next start.”