Nothing separated the teams for most of the night at American Family Field. Then the seventh inning arrived, and Travis Bazzana sent a 398-foot shot to right field that broke a 2-2 tie and gave Cleveland the lead it would not relinquish. The Guardians added an insurance run in the same frame and held on for a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee before 36,386 fans.
Parker Messick was the story on the mound. The Cleveland left-hander worked six innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 3 and striking out 9 on 96 pitches. He picked up his seventh win against three losses, carrying a 2.70 ERA. Cade Smith closed it out, working 1.1 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts for his 24th save of the season.
The game traded leads four times before Bazzana settled it. Milwaukee scored first in the second when Sánchez singled to center, bringing home Vaughn. Cleveland answered in the third on David Fry's solo home run to left center, 380 feet, tying the game at 1-1. The Brewers retook the lead in the fourth on Cooper Pratt's sacrifice fly to center, scoring Sánchez. Kyle Manzardo then tied it again in the sixth with a solo shot to right, 370 feet. Bazzana's go-ahead homer in the seventh put Cleveland in front 3-2, and Daniel Schneemann scored on a wild pitch by Rom later in the inning to make it 4-2.
Milwaukee's bullpen absorbed the damage. Grant Anderson allowed 2 runs in 0.2 innings and took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 3.19 ERA. Shane Drohan had kept the Guardians in check through five innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts, but did not factor in the decision. The Brewers finished with 5 hits and left the game unable to answer Cleveland's seventh-inning surge.
Cleveland moved to 39-35, extending its road trip with the win. Milwaukee, despite the loss, remains atop its division at 45-26. The Guardians had dropped two straight entering the game; the Brewers had won three in a row.