MILWAUKEE -- If one needed a reminder of the veracity of the old cliché that baseball is a game of inches, this was your night.
Keston Hiura homered for the first time since returning from a hamstring injury, but the Brewers were hamstrung by Padres righty Dinelson Lamet and hindered by some bad breaks in a 2-1 loss on Wednesday night at Miller Park, snapping their four-game winning streak.
An inch here, and maybe the home run that supplied both Padres runs bounces back into play instead of over the fence in the third inning. An inch there, and perhaps Brewers rookie Trent Grisham doesn’t inadvertently kick the baseball on an odd play that ever so briefly tied the game in the seventh.
"It hasn't been the type of year that those inches have added up for us very often,” Padres manager Andy Green said, “but they did today."
“You win 11 out of 12, you’re catching a lot of breaks,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell, whose club entered the night having done just that. “Tonight, we didn’t catch the breaks. We probably also didn’t do enough offensively to create some breaks.”
The loss dropped the Brewers three games behind the Cardinals in the National League Central standings with 10 games to play and denied Milwaukee sole possession of the NL’s second Wild Card. Instead, the Brewers and Cubs remained tied for the second Wild Card spot at 82-70, 1 1/2 games back of Washington in the top spot.
It was the little things that made the difference:
Little thing No. 1
The inning: Top third
The score: 0-0
The situation: Runner on first, no outs
Brewers starter Adrian Houser felt tightness in his mid-back after recoiling to avoid Greg Garcia’s leadoff single. His wincing drew a visit from athletic trainer Scott Barringer, pitching coach Chris Hook and Counsell, but Houser stayed in the game to face Padres shortstop Seth Mejias-Brean, who was making his second career start.
Houser grooved a fastball in an 0-2 count. Mejias-Brean sent it in the air to right field. It bounced off the top of the wall and into the Padres’ bullpen for a 2-0 lead, the only blemish during an outing in which Houser allowed three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
“He pitched well, but a mistake in a game like that against a pitcher like [Lamet] is what gets you,” Counsell said. “[Houser] did a really nice job to a lot of their hitters; that’s a guy he has to get out.”
Asked to describe what happened, Houser said, “Maybe a little rib popped out or something like that, but we got it to go back and we were able to lock it back in. After that, I was good to go. … Just that pitch -- I need to be a little smarter in the moment there. That’s one I wish I could get back.”
Little thing No. 2
The inning: Bottom seventh
The score: 2-1
The situation: Runner on third, two outs
Hiura reclaimed one run in the sixth with a homer off Lamet, who was otherwise electric while striking out 14 batters in six innings. And the Brewers were cooking again in the seventh. Cory Spangenberg found his way to third base with two outs for Grisham, who struck out on a pitch in the dirt and took off for first base. Padres catcher Francisco Mejía’s throw was low, and Eric Hosmer couldn’t handle it. For a few moments, Grisham was safe, and the game was tied.
But Mejía, Hosmer and Green all protested that Grisham had inadvertently kicked the baseball, and the umpires agreed. Grisham was called out, per Rule 6.01, and the inning was over.
“Well, it’s the umpire’s judgment whether the fact that it hit Trent hindered the ability of the fielder to make the play,” Counsell said.
Said Spangenberg: “By the time I got in the dugout, I didn’t think anything had happened. Then the umpires got together. I didn’t see anything, but I wasn’t looking too closely for any details. If the home-plate umpire doesn’t see that, you don’t think any other umpire can see that. It was a tough call to make, but that was their call.”
“I saw it right away,” Mejía said, “and that's why I didn't throw the ball at first, because I wasn't sure if the umpire would call it or not.”
It was a small thing on a night brimming with them. The Brewers had one go in their favor against Padres closer Kirby Yates in the ninth, when pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor was saved from being doubled off first base on a pop-up to deep shortstop. Taylor got back because Mejias-Brean’s throw hit Taylor in the back. That brought Ryan Braun to the plate with two outs, three days after his two-out grand slam beat the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This time, Braun struck out.
“You get in a 2-1 game, and those are the things we’re all going to look at,” Counsell said. “We weren’t offensive tonight. We didn’t score enough. We didn’t put enough pressure on the other guys tonight. They pitched well.”