Rhys Hoskins hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, Eric Haase blasted two home runs and the Milwaukee Brewers held on for an 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Jackson Chourio finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs for Milwaukee, which finished a two-game sweep of the Twins. Haase also drove in three runs.
Byron Buxton hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the Twins at the plate. Trevor Larnach went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
Brewers left-hander Jared Koenig (8-1) earned the victory with one scoreless inning of relief.
Twins right-hander Griffin Jax (3-4) allowed two runs in one inning.
Trevor Megill picked up his 19th save for Milwaukee despite giving up two runs in the ninth.
The score was even at 5-5 when Hoskins stepped up to the plate with one out and a runner on first in the eighth. He had two strikes on him when he belted a 384-foot, two-run shot to left-center field for his 15th home run of the season.
Minnesota had a prime chance to come back in the bottom of the eighth. The Twins loaded the bases with nobody out but squandered the opportunity on a flyout by Manuel Margot and back-to-back strikeouts by Willi Castro and Ryan Jeffers.
Haase increased the Brewers’ lead to 8-5 with a solo shot in the top of the ninth. The 432-foot blast to center marked his second homer of the game and his third of the year.
The Twins’ comeback bid fell just short in the bottom of the ninth. Buxton hit a leadoff shot for his second homer of the game and his 11th of the season. Max Kepler doubled in the next at-bat, advanced to third on a flyout by Carlos Santana and scored on a groundout by Brooks Lee to cut Minnesota’s deficit to 8-7.
Matt Wallner worked the count full with two outs in the next at-bat as the potential game-tying run. Megill struck him out swinging to end the game.
Aaron Civale got the start for the Brewers and gave up five runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. Twins starter Joe Ryan lasted six innings, allowing four runs and seven hits.
–Field Level Media
