Healthy Garza leads Brewers over Indians
MILWAUKEE -- Matt Garza won in his return from the disabled list, Jean Segura ended a long power drought and the Brewers kept on winning, 8-1, over the Indians on Tuesday at Miller Park for Milwaukee's 17th victory in 23 games.
"I think we're in a mood right now of, 'Let's play a good game tomorrow,'" said Brewers manager Craig Counsell, whose club is within 10 games of .500 for the first time since May 15. "We've been doing good in that mode and I think that's the mode to stay in."
The Indians lost for the fourth time in six games while going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position against Garza and the Brewers' bullpen. Returning from a sore shoulder, Garza scattered six hits and a pair of walks over six scoreless innings for his first victory since June 6.
Video: CLE@MIL: Salazar fans eight Brewers over six innings
The Brewers tallied only two hits in six innings against Indians starter Danny Salazar, but made them count. Gerardo Parra tripled and scored on a groundout in the first inning -- the first of Parra's two triples in the game -- and Segura connected for a two-run home run in the second. A four-run rally in the seventh inning sealed the Brewers' fourth win in as many games since the All-Star break.
Video: CLE@MIL: Parra hits a line-drive RBI triple to center
"I thought Danny actually pitched pretty well," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Other than [a couple mistakes] he was really good. I mean, dominant. But, we fell behind, and we were trying desperately to keep [the score] where it was to give ourselves a chance."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Video: CLE@MIL: Segura hits a two-run shot to left-center
Quadruple: Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez was waiting at home plate with a hug after circling the bases on Segura's second-inning, two-run home run. And why not? Segura's previous 38 hits were singles, and he had not homered since June 5 at Minnesota. When he snapped that power drought on Tuesday, it gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead.
"I was talking during batting practice, like, 'Shoot, I'm going to get a home run, double, whatever,'" Segura said. "Finally. He left me a fastball down the middle and I put a good swing on it.'
Breaking through: After Garza blanked the Tribe for six frames, holding Cleveland to an 0-for-6 showing with runners in scoring position, the Indians scratched across a run in the seventh. Facing reliever Michael Blazek, Yan Gomes opened with a ground-rule double and later scored on a two-base hit courtesy of Giovanny Urshela.
Video: CLE@MIL: Gennett fields grounder, starts double play
Turning two: Garza kept the Indians and his own pitch count in check by inducing a trio of double plays, including one off speedy center fielder Michael Bourn's bat in the second inning. Segura threw a fastball to first base that beat Bourn, who hadn't grounded into a single double play in his first 249 at-bats this season.
Video: CLE@MIL: Braun reaches on error, Peterson scores
Lindor's error: Shortstop Francisco Lindor initiated a 6-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh, putting Cleveland in position to escape a big inning. Reliever Ryan Webb then induced another grounder to Lindor off the bat of Ryan Braun, but the young shortstop made a low throw that first baseman Carlos Santana couldn't handle. The error helped kick open the floodgates for Milwaukee.
"There was no place to put people and we needed a ground ball and that's exactly what we got," Francona said. "Then, he got the next ground ball and Frankie, he laid back, and then he didn't move his feet, and then that led to a bunch more runs. … That's a play he knows he needs to make."
QUOTABLE
"I've seen crazier things. I was on a team [the 2006 Twins] that was [10 1/2] out in mid-August, and we won the division. So I've seen crazier stuff. Shoot, we were [19 games over .500] last year, and we didn't make the playoffs. Baseball is a crazy game." -- Garza, on whether the Brewers can dream of getting back into contention.
Video: CLE@MIL: Garza on coming back from DL, Brewers' win
"We're going to have to realize that pitchers aren't just going to lay a pitch in there when they're behind. That's the way the game is. We're going to have to be a little more selective or more aggressive on the right pitches, as opposed to going out of the zone." -- Francona, on his team's struggles with runners in scoring position
WHAT'S NEXT
Indians: Rookie right-hander Cody Anderson (1-1, 0.89 ERA) will take the ball for the Tribe in Wednesday's finale of this two-game Interleague clash with the Brewers at 2:10 p.m. ET. The 24-year-old will be pitching on 12 days of rest, having made his last start on July 9. In that outing, Anderson became the first pitcher since at least 1914 to open a career with four straight starts consisting of at least 6 2/3 innings and no more than one run allowed.
Brewers: Kyle Lohse will try to put a lousy first half behind him Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. CT when he completes the Brewers' first post-All-Star Game turn through the pitching rotation. Lohse was 5-10 with a 6.17 ERA before the break, putting a dent in his trade value during a contract year.
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