A three-run eighth inning helped the Baltimore Orioles rally past the host Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Thursday and avoid a series sweep.
Baltimore, which has yet to be swept in a series, found itself in an immediate hole in the bottom of the first inning. Christian Yelich’s leadoff walk off Orioles starter Kyle Bradish triggered a sequence resulting in three Milwaukee runs.
Yelich scored on Rowdy Tellez’s fielder’s choice, Willy Adames came home on an Owen Miller single, and William Contreras scored on a Jon Singleton single.
That was all the offense the Brewers mustered, however, as Bradish settled in to strike out 10 over five innings without surrendering another run. The Baltimore bullpen held the Milwaukee bats in check down the stretch.
The first breakthrough came in the seventh inning when Ramon Urias hit a solo home run off of Joel Payamps. The homer — Urias’ second of the season — highlighted a 3-for-4 afternoon for the third baseman.
In the eighth inning, Anthony Santander doubled with one out to score Adley Rutschman. After an Austin Hays strikeout, Gunnar Henderson hit a two-out home run with Santander aboard to give Baltimore a lead it did not relinquish.
The Orioles added insurance in the ninth when Aaron Hicks drew a leadoff walk ahead of a Urias single. With Jorge Mateo pinch-running for Urias, Adam Frazier hit a double to score both Hicks and Mateo.
Felix Bautista struck out two batters in the bottom of the ninth on the way to his 16th save of the season. Keegan Akin (2-1) gave up a hit in 1 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win for Baltimore.
Peter Strzelecki (3-5) took the loss for Milwaukee. Brewers starter Colin Rea struck out eight and gave up just three hits in five innings.
Contreras finished 2-for-4 for Milwaukee. Joey Wiemer, who hit the game-winning single in extra innings on Tuesday and knocked a pair of home runs on Wednesday, extended his hitting streak to nine games in a 1-for-4 performance.
–Field Level Media
