CINCINNATI – How many times can a baseball team leave you stunned, mouth agape and rendered utterly speechless? How do you make sense of what your brain almost cannot comprehend? How do you put what is indescribable into words?
Perhaps, for the Milwaukee Brewers and their record-setting summer, the answer lies in a number instead: Fourteen.
As in, the amount of consecutive wins rattled off by the Brewers to begin the month of August, surpassing the previous franchise record of 13 set by “Team Streak” in 1987.
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As in, the jersey number worn by the light-hitting backup infielder who stepped to the plate and delivered the game-winning three-run home run in the 11th inning to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5, on Aug. 16, and secure the greatest single-season streak ever by a Brewers team.
“We set a franchise record with a 14-game winning streak with No. 14,” said Andruw Monasterio, who unexpectedly belted just his sixth career home run to break a 3-3 tie in extras. “That’s something, like, only God or the universe [can make] happen like that. I wasn’t ready for 14 for 14. That’s something amazing.”
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Amazing, indeed.
And at 34 games above .500, the Brewers have matched their top high-water mark in franchise history with 40 games yet to play.
It was only fitting that the Brewers one-upped themselves in terms of drama yet again during a streak that has defied logic time and time again.
After dominant sweeps on the road in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta to set the kindling for what was to come, Milwaukee clawed out comeback wins twice against the Mets at home, including erasing a 5-0 deficit on Aug. 10. They pounded Paul Skenes, the likely Cy Young Award winner, in a 14-0 win two days later. To open the series at Great American Ball Park on Aug. 15, they erased an 8-1 deficit to pull off their greatest heist yet.
Under sweltering 90-degree temperatures for the second game in Cincinnati, the Brewers trailed, 2-1, entering the top of the ninth, only to knot the score on a throwing error from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
“Give us a chance and it seems like guys take every advantage,” said right-hander Quinn Priester.
They utilized shoddy Reds defense for all three of their runs before the jarring blast, were hitless with runners in scoring position until extras, stranded the winning run for Cincinnati in scoring position in both the ninth and 10th, then Nick Mears registered his first career save on a fly ball to the warning track in center with the tying run at the plate.
“It’s just like this feeling of, like, ‘So what?'” Priester said of the mentality when the Brewers fall behind. “We play nine innings.”
Have you ever seen anything quite like this?
“No,” said Priester, who notched a different 14-game winning streak by the Brewers coming out on top in his 14th straight outing.
Monasterio the surprise hero
Is it a surprise if you’ve come to expect the most surprising thing imaginable?
That was the case as Monasterio, who had already been asked to be ready to hit four times by manager Pat Murphy in the game, grabbed a bat for the fifth instance and this time actually walking out to the on-deck circle with the left-hander Joe La Sorsa on the bump.
With the go-ahead run on third following Brice Turang’s leadoff bunt hit, Monasterio, who came into the day batting .242 with one homer in 39 games, was simply looking to go to the opposite field and get the run in. Instead, he got a hanging changeup and turned on it, crushing a no-doubter 382 feet to the seats in left.
“Amazing. It’s an amazing feeling,” Monasterio said. “Part of this game is to take advantage of the other team, like I took advantage of that hanging pitch.”
This is what the Brewers do. They take advantage. Whether it’s opponents’ miscue — such as Noelvi Marte’s misplay in right field in the second inning or De La Cruz’s throwing error or Jake Fraley’s error in left field in the 10th — or simply getting a chance to play, they take advantage. It’s the reason Murphy calls Milwaukee “the land of opportunity.”
“You pull for guys like Mona who do whatever you ask,” Murphy said. “He’s played every position. First, second, third, short, left field. He’d do anything we’d ask. He was with us all of last year and deserved to be and did a lot of great things.
“He didn’t start the season here but then got the chance to come up and he’s been great ever since, filling in anywhere. Seeing him get this big hit tonight, it’s huge. I’m really happy for him.”
Reds defensive miscue gives Brewers second life
The inexplicable has happened to the Brewers ever since the calendar flipped to August. And just as it seemed that it wasn’t going to work in their favor for one night, there it was, sprinkling magic over the top of the ninth for Milwaukee.
With one out and runners on first and second, Sal Frelick hit a slow roller to second base. The Reds got an easy out at second, with shortstop Elly De La Cruz catching the feed on the bag before unleashing a max-effort laser to first to try and double up Frelick.
The ball, however, might have had too much mustard on it, skipping past first baseman Spencer Steer and trickling to the netting in foul territory, which gave Brice Turang ample time to scamper home from second on the play and knot the score at 2-2.
“Our guys keep responding,” Murphy said. “We’re very fortunate to come away with a victory tonight. We didn’t have a reason to.”
Quinn Priester gives up costly two-strike homers
Priester hadn’t done much wrong through five. Then he made two critical mistakes in advantage counts.
First, Priester hung a 1-2 curve to the light-hitting Ke’Bryan Hayes, who roped the ball inside the left field foul pole 388 feet to tie the game.
Two batters later, the Reds took the lead as Priester failed to get an 0-2 sinker far enough in on Spencer Steer, who got his hands in on the ball and sent it a couple rows deep in left for his 15th homer of the year.
The Brewers offense had been unable to tack onto its lead since its solo tally in the second inning, putting only two runners on base over the following four innings against right-hander Zack Littell.
Priester’s outing ended two batters later following a walk and single to put runners on the corners, but Aaron Ashby managed to escape by striking out the two hitters he saw.
“Ashby had another huge impact on the game,” Murphy said.
The bats that have ravaged opposing pitching to the tune of 8.7 runs per game during the winning streak let golden opportunities pass by the wayside in the seventh and eighth.
A Caleb Durbin leadoff double in the seventh went to waste when two hitters struck out and Sal Frelick rolled over to second with two in scoring position for the final out.
An inning later, Tony Santillan’s wildness led to consecutive walks, but the Reds setup man buckled down to strike out Christian Yelich and induce an Andrew Vaughn flyout before Hayes made the play of the game on a Durbin bunt with the tying run on third.
Joey Ortiz flashes the leather in fifth
Joey Ortiz made one of the infield defensive gems of the year for Milwaukee to take a hit away from Marte in the bottom of the fifth. To lead off the inning, Marte smacked a 106 mph grounder seemingly destined for center field. Instead, Ortiz got a lightning-quick jump on the ball and ranged far to his left to make a diving stop, spring to his feet and throw in time to first.
TJ Friedl finally gets a Reds hit
The 13 straight wins the Brewers had entering the day wasn’t the only streak they had going on.
After retiring the final 23 hitters in a row to complete the win in the Aug. 15 game, Priester sat down the first nine Reds he saw in his Aug. 16 start. It came to an end as TJ Friedl lined a 3-1 pitch for a single to lead off the third, which was Cincinnati’s first hit since Austin Hays’ one-out single in the second the night prior.
The final tally of 32 consecutive batters retired set a new club record, per Elias Sports Bureau.
After another win, Brewers turn the page to tomorrow
History was made, yet the Brewers clubhouse didn’t feel any different than it has for any of the previous 13 wins. If anything, it was even more businesslike, which players scrambling to shower and get dressed before the first bus back to the hotel departed.
But rest assured that this is a moment that, no matter how the club fares in October this time around, will be the subject of discussion back home for a long time to come.
“I’m grateful,” Murphy said. “I’m grateful. I’m a small part of it, but I’m grateful. That’s the group we’ve got — a bunch of hungry, hungry guys. That’s all I can keep saying because it’s what it is. Guys who come and want to win and want to play. A lot of cliffhangers, guys that are hanging on to the big leagues.
“…You know, the guys we’re doing with, a lot of people have never heard of. Quinn Priester. They never heard of Monasterio, I guarantee it.”
They have now in Cincinnati, at least, where the Brewers will quickly turn the page and go for an unprecedented 15 wins in the finale.
“This is a good team over there,” Murphy said. “They’re in contention. “To come to their field, it’s pretty special. And we got another one tomorrow morning, so (you) can’t think about it too much.”
The Brewers skipper paused momentarily, summing up the past two weeks in a split-second of silence.
“But, boy.”
Brewers place DL Hall on injured list
A day after he threw 2 2/3 innings in the Brewers’ 10-8 win, DL Hall landed on the injured list with a right oblique strain. Grant Anderson, who was optioned to Class AAA Nashville the day before, was recalled.
What time is the Brewers game against the Reds?
Time: 5:40 p.m. CT
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin
Brewers lineup
- Sal Frelick RF
- Joey Ortiz SS
- William Contreras C
- Christian Yelich DH
- Andrew Vaughn 1B
- Caleb Durbin 3B
- Brice Turang 2B
- Steward Berroa CF
- Brandon Lockridge
Reds lineup
- TJ Friedl CF
- Spencer Steer 1B
- Elly De La Cruz SS
- Miguel Andujar DH
- Gavin Lux LF
- Noelvi Marte RF
- Matt McLain 2B
- Jose Trevino C
- Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B
Brewers schedule
Brewers at Reds, Aug. 17, 12:40 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP José Quintana (10-4, 3.44) vs. Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (8-3, 2.41). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers get franchise-record 14th straight win with electrifying lift from Monasterio’s clutch 3-run homer in 11th inning
