Major League Playoffs: Mike Moustakas, a bit of luck, gives the Brewers an early break against the Rockies
Major League Playoffs: Mike Moustakas, a bit of luck, gives the Brewers an early break against the Rockies
.MILWAUKEE: This was not a game that the Milwaukee Brewers had to win as much as one they could not lose.
Impulse is a non-quantifiable but imperative thing, especially in a short series like this. If the Brewers had lost, having played almost perfectly until they had a two-out advantage in the ninth, well, it would have been deflating, the kind of defeat that lasts long after the game ends. But winning, and doing it so dramatically, will be the kind of momentum that a team can ride like a wave.
"We could not not win that game," said Ryan Braun after the Brewers won a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Mike Moustakas' RBI single in the 10th.
"We know how good they are, we know how good they are at home," added Braun. "So that was just a game we could not lose, fortunately, we did not."
The second game of the National League Division Series is Friday afternoon.
To win a title, hell, sometimes just to win a game, you need some breaks. Talent and understanding and focus, too, of course. But things can turn into the smallest moments, and you should expect some of them to fall in your favor.
They did it for the Brewers from the beginning. Thanks to an early two-run homer by Christian Yelich - come on, who else did you think it would be - and a brilliant performance from his bullpen, which combined to allow a single hit through the first eight innings, Milwaukee was cruising.
Sure, they could have taken the opportunity to add a couple of extra runs, leaving the runners in the scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings. But this is not football or soccer, where the score has an impact. The final result is all that matters.
Until the result changes.
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Jeremy Jeffress, who has been so solid with Milwaukee, delivered singles to the first three batters in the ninth inning, including Charlie Blackmon's scoring run to right field. Nolan Arenado followed with a sack to tie the score.
Even then, it could have been worse. Blackmon initially hit what looked like a double tug to the deep corner on the right. But the repetitions showed that it had been failing by centimeters, and the call was canceled.
"If that comes, he's second and third with no one and a race already scored," Yelich said. "They always say it's a game of inches, and today it really was."
Other teams might not have gone so well after such a big change in momentum. By being able to leave the entrance behind and focus on the game, they could still win instead of the one they had almost lost.
But the Brewers are nothing if not resilient. This is, after all, the team that was five games behind the Chicago Cubs on September 2, but ended up being the National League Central Division champion.
"We've been down a lot, but we've never been out," said Curtis Granderson, "and you saw him again tonight."
It started, of course, with Yelich. He quickly fell behind Adam Ottavino 0-2, but kept moving away until he was at first base with a full count walk. He took second in a wild pitch.
The Rockies opted to throw a shot at Travis Shaw to establish the starting force, which they got in Granderson's career. But it also meant that the Brewers now had runners on the corners, which left the Rockies with no alternative but to throw Moustakas.
That would be the same Moustakas who has six homers and 15 RBIs in the postseason. The same Moustakas that helped the Royals win the World Series a few years ago.
The same Moustakas who soon made the Rockies pay, threw the ball to right field for the winning race of the game.
"Look, Moose has been in those places," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. "You try not to make the situation too big, and he did a great job and finally got a pitch."
Sometimes you're lucky, and breaks come your way. And sometimes you win a game that you absolutely can not lose.
Follow the columnist Nancy Armor on Twitter @nrarmour
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