MINNEAPOLIS – It looked like a game-saving play by Twins infielder Brooks Lee. Moments later, it was the tying run for the Brewers and Minnesota manager Derek Shelton had been ejected.
A 3-2 Brewers win over the Twins on Friday night at Target Field turned in the blink of an eye on an obstruction call in the eighth inning, the pivotal moment of the go-ahead rally that propelled Milwaukee to its seventh win in the past eight games and to a season-high eight games over .500.
With runners on second and third, no outs, and the Twins clinging to a one-run lead, William Contreras hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. Lee fielded it cleanly and made the heads-up decision to throw to third, where Royce Lewis tagged Jackson Chourio as he retreated to the bag.
Third-base umpire Jordan Baker called Chourio out, then immediately convened an umpire conference. The crew determined that Lewis had obstructed Chourio in his attempt to get back to the base. Not only was Chourio not out, he was awarded the next base -- which is to say he scored the tying run.
Unsurprisingly, Shelton was out to argue immediately, and before long he had earned his third ejection of the season.
The next batter, Jake Bauers, doubled in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, which won a spot start by rookie right-hander Coleman Crow, a 25-year-old who is the Brewers' No. 25 prospect, for the second time this season. He didn’t allow a Twins hit until the fifth inning and picked up a no-decision after pitching into the sixth.
For Pat Murphy and the Brewers, the disputed ruling was a welcome change of pace, since they had grown used to being on the wrong side of obstruction calls. Twice in the span of about a week last May, they got burned on similar plays -- one charged against first baseman Rhys Hoskins on a backpick at first base against the Cubs, then a much more impactful call against third baseman Caleb Durbin against the Rays in Tampa on May 9.
Murphy argued the latter so vociferously that he was ejected from what became a 4-3 Brewers loss.