Brewers win on Renfroe 10th inning walk-off, get eliminated from postseason contention

Oct 4, 2022 - 3:43 AM

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Box Score

With their backs against the wall, the Brewers needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. They had one of their most productive pitchers on the mound in Brandon Woodruff, who delivered again with another strong outing to keep the Brewers in it. Even with a good start from Woodruff, the Brewers need a pair of late rallies to propel them to the victory over the Diamondbacks, 6-5.

Christian Yelich got the scoring started in the 2nd. The left-handed Yelich notched his 14th home run of the season as it barely cleared the wall in left. The lead-off home run gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Andrew McCutchen followed the home run with a walk, and it looked as though the home team would be in business to add on to the lead. Instead, a Urias double play followed by a Keston Hiura pop-out left the lead to just a single run.

Trying to protect a 1-0 lead and keep their postseason hopes alive, Brandon Woodruff was dealing again. Woodruff retired the first seven he faced. In the 3rd, former Brewers prospect Cooper Hummel went deep to give the D-Backs their first hit and first run of the game. With the score tied 1-1, Woodruff walked Perdomo before inducing a double play and a flyout to end the inning.

Neither offense could do much following the tying home run in the 3rd. Tommy Henry of the Diamondbacks retired nine straight Brewers batters following the McCutchen walk back in the 2nd. On the flip side, Woodruff allowed just one hit across the remaining three innings of work.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, that one hit would lead to some damage. In the 5th, Corbin Carroll led off with a triple to center. Next up, Sergio Alcantara drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center, making it a 2-1 lead for the visitors. Woodruffs night would be done one inning later, finishing with another solid outing that seven punchouts, one walk, and just two runs on two hits.

Unfortunately in baseball, a great start ultimately doesn't mean much if your offense can’t get hits. With Henry on the mound, the Brewers only got one base runner into scoring position. In 6.1 innings of work, Henry allowed three hits and just one earned run. Meanwhile, the reliable Holby Milner struggled in relief of Woodruff. A Walker double followed by an Alcantara home run a few batters later extended the Arizona advantage to 4-1.

The score remained the same going into the bottom of the 9th. With the season on the line, Hunter Renfroe led off the inning with his 29th home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Christian Yelich then got on with a high chopper up the middle, bringing the tying run to the plate. A passed ball, Wong walk, and Tellez groundout gave the Brewers men on second and third with two outs. Victor Caratini then made it a tie game when he hit a hard grounder off the glove of Walker, the ball trickling just far enough into right to allow Yelich and Wong to score. A Peterson groundout would extend the game to extra innings for the second game in a row.

A sacrifice bunt led off the 10th for the Diamondbacks, which led to an easy run following a base hit by Varsho. One run would be all they would get in the top of the inning, leaving the score 5-4 going into the bottom of the inning. Omar Narvaez, who was substituted in before the top of the inning, led off with a walk. Next up, Willy Adames would drive in Jace Peterson, who was the ghost runner on second, with a base hit to right. Now with men at the corners and no outs, Hunter Renfroe kept the training going with a single of his own, walking off the Diamondbacks and keeping the playoff hopes alive with a 6-5 victory.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, their celebration would be short-lived. Shortly after the walk-off victory, the Philadelphia Phillies officially clinched their first playoff birth in 11 years, defeating the Astros 3-0, eliminating the Brewers from the postseason.

Tuesday the Brewers will play their first regular season game in five years in which they have no shot at making the playoffs. Eric Lauer will be on the mound to face off against Zac Gallen, with the first pitch at 6:40 pm.