Every time you think the Milwaukee Brewers offense is starting to show some signs of stringing together some success, they struggle to keep it going. That was the case again on Thursday night when they failed to get a hit until the fifth inning and watched the Minnesota Twins pull away for a 7-1 victory at Target Field.
Twins starter Jose Berrios entered the game with a 1-3 record and a 5.92 ERA. He pitched six innings of one-hit ball, walking one and striking out nine.
Minnesota had chances to add to their 1-0 lead, but a pair of solid defensive plays by the Brewers, kept the Twins off the scoreboard.
The Twins would finally add a run in the sixth inning, chasing Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff (1-2) and pushing their lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly off of reliever Freddy Peralta.
The Brewers cut the lead in half in the seventh when Justin Smoak clubbed a solo home run. But Minnesota came right back in the bottom half, increasing the lead to 4-1 when Nelson Cruz clubbed a two-run homer.
The Twins then blew the game open in the eighth, scoring three runs off of Angel Perdomo.
The loss dropped the Brewers back below .500 at 11-12. They’ll open a three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates on Friday night. Adrian Houser (1-1, 3.27) pitches for the Brewers. Chad Kuhl (0-1, 3.21) goes for the Pirates.