DENVER -- Prior to Friday night’s dramatic 9-7 win in 10 innings over the Rockies at Coors Field, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that one of the conversations he regularly has with his players and staff involves the “full catastrophe” that is seemingly always either lurking or present during any given baseball season.
He used the term after Milwaukee’s loss to the Giants at American Family Field on Thursday afternoon, as relievers DL Hall -- who was placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday with a left pectoral strain -- and Grant Anderson had to exit the contest due to injuries, further decimating an already thin pitching staff.
Things appeared to get even worse in Friday’s game when reliever Brian Fitzpatrick, whom the club recalled from Triple-A Nashville along with Craig Yoho to fortify the ailing bullpen, left with an apparent injury while warming up for the bottom of the seventh inning.
Then, trailing by two runs and down to their final three outs, the Brewers rallied for a four-run ninth inning and scored four more in the 10th to stun the Rockies. Prior to the 11th-hour eruption, Milwaukee had just one hit in the game against Colorado starter Ryan Feltner and relievers Jaden Hill and Antonio Senzatela.
Brice Turang opened the ninth with a single to left field. William Contreras followed with a ground ball back to Senzatela, but Senzatela threw the ball into center field in an attempt to start a double play.
With runners at the corners, Jake Bauers then singled to center to cut the deficit to 3-2. After Garrett Mitchell struck out, Sal Frelick delivered an RBI double to tie the game. Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn followed with a go-ahead two-run single.
Reliever Trevor Megill was unable to hold the lead in the bottom of the ninth, but Milwaukee was undeterred. In the 10th, Bauers delivered a two-run double, which was followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Mitchell and Frelick to pad the lead.