Five Milwaukee pitchers, none of them in the starting rotation on opening day, combined to lead the Brewers to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins, salvaging the final game of the series.
Manny Parra worked two scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season. Parra worked out of a jam in the 5th, facing runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and getting out of it.
Parra and Marco Estrada both pitched on Saturday, only to return on Sunday to chip in for the win. Estrada started, worked 3 innings, allowing 2-runs. Parra followed him. Rookie Zach Braddock was next, working 2 innings.
Trevor Hoffman, who had lost his closer role after his fifth blown save earlier in the week, pitched a perfect eighth inning in his 1,000th career game. Hoffman became just the 14th pitcher in Major League history to appear in that many games. John Axeford then came on to earn his second career save with a scoreless 9th.
Offensively, the Brewers got home runs from Corey Hart and Prince Fielder and made the most of the 6 hits they collected for the game.
It’s too early to tell if this win will propel the Brewers. They take the day off today and host the Houston Astros at Miller Park starting Tuesday night. But this can be a momentum building win. When you use all of your pitchers one night, then have to string 5 pitchers together a day later just to get through a game and then you win, that’s something to write home about. The Brewers could have laid down and felt sorry for themselves. But they didn’t. They scrapped for a much needed win to finish 2-5 on the road trip, as opposed to 1-6.
Time will tell, and you still need the pitching to hold up. That’s been the Brewers biggest downfall so far this season.
(Bill Scott take a look at yesterday’s 4-3 win :47)