Hader allows 2 HRs, 'pen falters in loss

MILWAUKEE -- It’s one of the weirdest stats in baseball. One of the most unhittable pitchers in the sport has given up more home runs than he’s allowed singles, doubles and triples combined.

That is the reality for Brewers All-Star closer Josh Hader after he allowed a game-tying home run in the eighth inning and a go-ahead home run in the ninth, then watched Matt Albers surrender Buster Posey’s grand slam in the 10th inning of the Brewers’ 10-7 loss to the Giants on Friday at Miller Park.

“Josh is going to give up some runs,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s been on a stretch that’s been dynamite, really. They got him tonight. But look, every time we can get him into a game, we’re going to feel really good about it.”

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Ditto for the teams that do to Hader what the Giants did Friday night.

“Hitting two homers off Hader is hard to do,” Posey said.

A sixth loss in their last seven games was not the way the Brewers envisioned opening what they hope is a more fruitful second half, especially not after Ryan Braun tallied two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored and Eric Thames tallied his second RBI of the night with a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning for a 5-4 lead that lasted into the eighth.

That’s when Hader took over, seeking to add to his Major League-leading 15 saves of at least two full innings this season. Those hopes were promptly dashed when he surrendered a first-pitch, leadoff home run to pinch-hitter Tyler Austin, handing Hader his second blown save of the season. Hader retired the next five hitters in order and was one out away from getting the Brewers to the bottom of the ninth in a tie game when Brandon Crawford hammered a two-out home run for a 6-5 San Francisco lead.

The Brewers tied the game in the bottom of the ninth against the Giants’ All-Star closer Will Smith, who hadn’t blown a save all season. But for Hader, the damage was done. He’s held opposing hitters to a .114 average this season, second lowest in MLB. But of the 17 hits he’s allowed, nine have cleared the fence. He allowed nine home runs all of last season in 36 1/3 more innings.

In MLB history, among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings in a season, the highest percentage of home runs to hits is 31.1 percent by the Reds’ Amir Garrett in 2017, when he surrendered 23 home runs among his 74 hits. Hader has company this season in the Dodgers' Yimi Garcia, who has allowed nine home runs among 18 hits in 35 innings so far.

“I’ve got no answer,” Hader said. “The only correcting is just not leaving the ball over the middle. I think that’s where I get in trouble.”

Said Counsell: “I think we have to live with the fact that he’s going to give up some runs sometimes. And that’s how he gives up his runs; that’s the nature of how he pitches. It’s a lot of strikeouts and the ball goes in the air a lot.”

The more surprising of the two home runs belonged to Crawford, a left-handed hitter. Hader has allowed four home runs in 214 career plate appearances by lefties. Three have come this season: Cody Bellinger, Freddie Freeman and Crawford.

It had nothing to do with health, Counsell said. Hader opted not to pitch in the All-Star Game because of back tightness between outings leading into the break, but that was precautionary. He was fully available when regular season play resumed Friday.

“I felt good. I just made two mistakes, right over the middle of the plate,” Hader said. “Can’t happen.”

“His fastball is so deceptive, it’s pretty much unhittable when he puts it in the top three quadrants of the strike zone,” said Brewers starter Chase Anderson, who allowed two runs on three hits over five innings and exited with the game tied at 2. “When it’s down, it’s like anybody else’s heater -- it’s more susceptible to getting hit. I think he would say the same thing.

“With Josh on the mound, we expect him to go out there and strike everybody out, because that’s what he does. But the ball is flying and homers are at an all-time high. You make a bad pitch, the guy puts the bat to it and puts it in the air, you think, ‘Oh, this could go out.’ That’s the nature of the game right now.”

There was no doubt about the fifth Giants home run of the night, however. Posey golfed a sinker at the bottom of the strike zone from Albers for a grand slam that boosted the ERA of Brewers relievers to 4.52.

“We didn’t have a good night in the bullpen tonight,” Counsell said. “We can be better than that. We will be better than that.”