Nothing separated these teams for six innings. Then the seventh changed everything. Jake Bauers hit a two-run home run to right center — 400 feet — to give the Milwaukee Brewers a lead they would not relinquish, and the Brewers walked away with a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday at Chase Field.
Bauers, who entered the game hitting .266 with 16 home runs and 54 RBI on the season, went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI. His blast off Eduardo Rodriguez flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage in one swing. Joey Ortiz followed with a single to right that scored Sánchez, extending the Brewers' lead to 3-1. Arizona answered in the bottom half when Tommy Troy scored on Gabriel Moreno's fielder's choice grounder, cutting the deficit to 3-2, but Milwaukee's bullpen held from there.
Trevor Megill worked a scoreless ninth, allowing one walk and striking out none, to earn his 13th save of the season. Drew Rom, who retired the only batter he faced in 0.1 innings, earned his first win of the season.
Eduardo Rodriguez absorbed the loss, falling to 7-3. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts and no walks on 102 pitches. His ERA: 2.25. Arizona had taken the early lead in the first inning when Corbin Carroll doubled to right, scoring Gerardo Perdomo. Carroll finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk; Perdomo went 3-for-5 and scored a run. Rodriguez pitched well enough to win most nights. This was not most nights.
Milwaukee improved to 54-33 and remains atop its division. Arizona, now 44-44, sits second in its division.