Tempers might still be high when the Milwaukee Brewers and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of a three-game series on Wednesday.
Milwaukee snapped a three-game skid with a wild 8-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, winning despite starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Abner Uribe getting ejected.
Peralta was tossed after hitting Jose Siri with a pitch with one out in the sixth inning and Milwaukee up 6-1.
Siri, whose 452-foot solo homer in the third inning was the only hit off Peralta, also was ejected in the eighth after exchanging punches with Uribe following a groundout to first base. That scrap led the benches to clear as a scrum broke out.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy also was booted for the second consecutive game. On Monday, he was ejected after arguing a ninth-inning, batter-interference ruling that prevented Milwaukee from scoring the tying run. Tampa Bay held on for a 1-0 win.
Both managers had a similar view of the Tuesday hostilities after the fact.
“It’s players and teammates defending teams,” Rays skipper Kevin Cash said. “You don’t want to see anybody get hurt. You don’t want to see anybody miss time.”
Murphy said, “All I can say is I’m just glad nobody got seriously hurt. There’s a lot of emotion in the game. I think the way the game ended (Monday) night, there was a lot of emotion. I think it lends itself to more emotion.”
Siri wound up leaving the game due to an injury.
“He’s OK,” Cash said. “His leg is actually pretty sore, probably won’t play (Wednesday).”
Milwaukee emerged on top Tuesday thanks in part to the contributions of Tyler Black. The touted infield prospect doubled in his first major league plate appearance and also singled. Black, called up earlier Tuesday from Triple-A Nashville, entered in the first inning when designated hitter Gary Sanchez was removed due to right hamstring tightness.
“Crazy how it works out. It’s surreal, can’t really feel what just happened. Crazy, crazy,” Black told Bally Sports in an on-field interview after the game. “A bunch of guys told me before the game to stay ready. Luckily my name was called and I was able to help the team win.”
Black hit .303 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 25 games for Nashville this year.
The Brewers also stole a season-high five bases, including one by Brice Turang, his 14th of the season, second in the majors behind the 18 of Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz.
The Wednesday pitching matchup will features two veteran right-handers, Milwaukee’s Colin Rea and Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin.
Rea (2-0, 3.25 ERA) has been one of the most consistent starters in an injury-riddled rotation, tossing at least five innings in each of his five starts.
In his latest outing, Rea allowed five runs, including three homers, in six innings but did not get a decision in Milwaukee’s 11-inning, 7-6 win over the New York Yankees on Friday. Rea has never faced the Rays.
Eflin (1-3, 4.08) took a loss his last time out, giving up five runs, four earned, in six innings during a 9-4 setback against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. The Rays trailed just 2-0 in the sixth inning before Eflin served up a three-run homer to Martin Maldonado.
“Overall, I didn’t feel like I had my good command all game, and it finally caught up to me in the sixth inning,” Eflin told the Tampa Bay Times after that appearance.
In six career starts vs. Milwaukee, Eflin is 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA. He faced the Brewers once last season, allowing three runs in seven innings during an 8-4 win on May 20.
Tampa Bay third baseman Isaac Paredes had his third consecutive two-hit game Tuesday, his fifth multi-hit performance in the past seven games. He is hitting .367 (11-for-30) with two homers and three RBIs over that seven-game span.
The Rays are 1-4 on their current six-game road trip.
–Field Level Media
