D-backs tie it on 9th-inning HR, win in 10th

May 26th, 2017

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers got their Opening Day starter back from the disabled list but lost their manager to an ejection, lost a lead with two outs in the ninth and then lost a game, 4-2, after the D-backs scored twice in the top of the 10th inning on Friday at Miller Park.
Chris Iannetta's solo home run in the ninth off Brewers closer forced a 10th inning, during which Chris Owings scored the go-ahead run on 's wild pitch and added insurance with an RBI double for his second RBI of the night. The D-backs won for the 10th time in 11 games, while the Brewers lost their fifth straight.
"I think they rely on one another," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "I think that's a very good ingredient. That's something that's pretty special about this group, that when they need to fight, they do it together. They hand it off to the next guy. The comments were very positive all game, even down to the last out."

The final five innings were action-packed, starting with Brewers manager Craig Counsell's ejection in the sixth after he lost a challenge on a close play at the plate. The Brewers snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak and tied the game in the seventh on 's home run and then took a 2-1 lead in the eighth on 's single off D-backs reliever , who had not surrendered a run in his eight previous outings. made his first start since Opening Day and allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five.

In the ninth, it was the visitors' turn to snap a reliever's long scoreless streak. Knebel had been unscored upon in his last 14 appearances and was two strikes away from making it 15 in a row when Iannetta sent his tying solo home run over the left-field wall.
• Knebel sees scoreless streak finally end
"We battled back really nicely, and a guy hit a 98-mph fastball," Counsell said. "Give Iannetta credit. It was a good swing on a tough pitch, and then they put some runs on the board in the 10th. … They kind of outlasted us, basically."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Out at home: The Brewers came close to snapping their scoreless streak an inning early, during a testy bottom of the sixth. With runners at the corners through ' walk and 's two-out single, Thames broke for home when a wild pitch got past Iannetta. Godley raced to the plate, got the ball from Iannetta and made a swipe tag as Thames slid headfirst, getting an out call from plate umpire Jim Reynolds. The Brewers challenged, believing Godley had not made contact with Thames in time, but the call stood. When Counsell protested, he was ejected. More >

"It was precision. It was very well done. It looked like a basketball play more than something you retrieve at home plate. They did a great job and they executed and it was a huge moment for us," Lovullo said.
"We all saw it on video," said Thames. "I guess it was different in New York. … I'm still shocked how that even happened."
All square: Iannetta figured prominently in that critical play at the plate, scrambling for Godley's errant pitch and making a backhand flip to the plate for the out. He contributed at the plate three innings later, connecting against lights-out reliever Knebel for a game-tying, two-out home run into the Brewers' bullpen in left-center field. It was Iannetta's third home run in his last four games, a stretch that dates back to May 12 because of a stint on the 7-day concussion disabled list after he was hit in the face by a pitch.
"I was just trying to get a pitch to hit and extend the game any way I could," Iannetta said. "He gave me curveball low, then he threw another one for a strike. He left a fastball over the plate. I was able to get the barrel to it. Thankful it got out and tied the game." More >
QUOTABLE
"He crushed it. Whether he's sitting on it or not, he happened to get [the bat] right where it was. That's what happens here. Good hitters, good pitchers, good matchup." -- Knebel, on Iannetta's game-tying homer
LAMB-BLASTED
Lamb stayed hot for the D-backs by belting his seventh home run in his last 10 games, a solo shot off Guerra in the fourth that represented the only blemish on the Brewers right-hander's 5 2/3-inning return from a seven-week stint on the DL for a calf injury. With 14 home runs, Lamb kept pace with National League leader , who also homered Friday and has 15 this season.

WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs:Zack Greinke will take the mound Saturday to face his former team and former teammate, Counsell. The righty's 0.66 WHIP in May is the second-lowest monthly mark of his career. He owns a lifetime 16-2 record with a 3.07 ERA at Miller Park and will seek his fifth straight win at 1:10 p.m. MST.
Brewers:Chase Anderson hopes to rebound against the team that drafted him in his 10th start of the season Saturday. The righty started the season off strong with a 1.12 ERA in four starts, but he has a 7.71 ERA and 2.09 WHIP in the month of May, giving up 16 earned runs and four homers over 18 2/3 innings.
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