'Steady' Chacin leads Crew's bounceback win
MILWAUKEE -- Hours after the Brewers' rotation depth took a hit, their most reliable starting pitcher hit back.Jhoulys Chacin, Milwaukee's steadiest starter this season and one of the National League's most unheralded arms, struck out nine without issuing a walk in 5 2/3 innings of a badly-needed, 6-1 win over
MILWAUKEE -- Hours after the Brewers' rotation depth took a hit, their most reliable starting pitcher hit back.
Chacin led the Brewers to their second win in 10 games, hours after the team lost another underrated contributor, left-hander
The Crew's win coincided with a Cubs loss to the D-backs at Wrigley Field, meaning they pulled back within 2 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the NL Central.
"Steady and consistent is exactly how I would describe his year so far," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Chacin.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
"He just doesn't flash the radar gun, so you guys kind of get bored and say, 'Oh, well, he only had nine strikeouts, gave up two hits -- boring,'" said Brewers catcher
Kratz quietly led the offense with a sacrifice fly in the second inning, a go-ahead RBI groundout in the fourth and a two-out walk in the sixth against struggling Nationals starter
Chacin's nine strikeouts were his most since fanning 10 for the Angels on May 30, 2016, and three shy of his career high of 12. He lowered his ERA to 3.58, his FIP to 3.89 and his WHIP to 1.22, putting the 30-year-old among the NL's top 15 qualified pitchers in each of those categories.
"I know it's been tough the last 10-14 games, so I just wanted to go out and let my team put some runs on the board and give it to the bullpen," said Chacin, who contributed one of those runs himself by hitting an RBI single. "It's good that we scored runs early, and it gave me some space to pitch more free. I feel like I did that today."
In his past two starts, Chacin has allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits over 11 innings with no walks. He became the first pitcher in Brewers history to allow two or fewer hits without walking a batter in consecutive starts, and the first big leaguer to do so since then-White Sox lefty Chris Sale in April 2016.
The key was Chacin's slider, which he threw 50 times in 100 pitches to induce eight swinging strikes, nine called strikes and 15 foul balls.
"My biggest thing was, 'Don't walk guys,' which is something that hurt me in the past," Chacin said. "I'm just glad that I'm throwing the ball better."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Yelich's big hit: Yelich's recent hot streak includes a home run in last week's All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, although Monday's big hit required a few well-placed bounces. After Kratz got the Brewers going in the sixth with a two-out walk, pinch-hitter Nate Orf singled and another pinch-hitter,
Yelich is 8-for-16 with seven RBIs in the first four games of the second half. He has hit safely in seven games for the Brewers dating back to before the All-Star break, and in 12 of his last 13 games.
"He's swinging the bat beautifully since the All-Star break," Counsell said. "We're going to go through stretches like this with him. He's such a pure hitter. I think the break did him good."
HE SAID IT
"Honestly, I caught [Indians ace]
UP NEXT
Right-hander
Adam McCalvy has covered the Brewers for MLB.com since 2001. Follow him on Twitter @AdamMcCalvy and like him on Facebook.