PHOENIX -- Pat Murphy and the Brewers had a four-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and were two outs from celebrating a second straight shutout victory -- on a night they¡¯d scratched out some early runs against old friend Corbin Burnes.
Over in the D-backs' dugout, there was tremendous frustration, with manager Torey Lovullo already thinking of what to tell his coaches postgame.
¡°I was thinking about some things that I was going to make sure that I addressed with the coaches to talk about continuing to remember how good we are, those subtle reminders [for the players],¡± Lovullo said. ¡°And your frustration builds, because you know that this team is very capable of doing something. We just couldn't get that big hit.¡±
Then, all of a sudden, Milwaukee couldn't make an out. The D-backs erupted for five runs to complete a walk-off, 5-4 win over the Brewers on Saturday night at Chase Field.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.¡¯s sacrifice fly scored Geraldo Perdomo from third with the game-winner, capping a wild bottom of the ninth.
¡°I feel like they¡¯re a very momentum-based team. Once one guy gets on, it¡¯s next guy up, next guy up, next guy up, and that¡¯s what we saw tonight,¡± said Milwaukee reliever Nick Mears, who did his job in keeping Arizona off the bases in a 1-2-3 eighth, and knows well how dangerous the D-backs can be. ¡°It can happen quick.¡±
Saturday it did, with Arizona going from looking lifeless at the plate to celebrating on the field.
For Milwaukee, the fateful ninth started with a decision. While closer Trevor Megill warmed, the Brewers extended the 3-0 lead they¡¯d built against Burnes to a 4-0 advantage, which prompted a change of plans to Joel Payamps, the long-reliable setup man who is off to a particularly poor start this season.
Murphy said the decision was unanimous among the Brewers' coaching staff, both because Megill had thrown 20 pitches the night before in a 7-0 situation -- he hadn¡¯t appeared for a week before that, and needed the work -- and because he¡¯s lately been dealing with knee discomfort that was serious enough to warrant an MRI scan. It came back clean, but Murphy figured a four-run lead offered an opportunity to play it safe.
Payamps retired the first batter he faced, then issued a walk to Gabriel Moreno and allowed a booming triple to Alek Thomas. The D-backs were in business.
Murphy brought in Megill to try and shut it down, but instead, Megill walked Garrett Hampson, who was 2-for-14 on the season, on four pitches. Megill then allowed a two-run double to Corbin Carroll.
¡°Hampson¡¯s walk, I thought, was pretty crucial,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°And Corbin was hot, he's on a heater right now, and you just feel like he's going to do something special. So it was probably the build-up that happened.¡±
Perdomo followed the double by working an eight-pitch walk, after which Jake McCarthy then singled home another run to tie the game at 4 and move Perdomo to third.
After an intentional walk to Josh Naylor loaded the bases, Gurriel lifted a fly ball to right and Perdomo scored easily with the winner.
¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± Perdomo said. ¡°We were about to get shut out again and that was a huge win for us. That was a big break for this team.¡±
On the other side, Murphy called it ¡°a heartbreaking loss¡± for the Brewers.
¡°These losses either hurt you bad or they force you to reach down a little further,¡± he said. ¡°Our team has always done that. ¡ When you give one away -- you¡¯re going to do that during a season -- but when you give one away, it digs deep. It hurts.¡±
Megill had departed before reporters were in the clubhouse, but before he left he indicated that the knee was not a factor, according to Murphy.
Still, that¡¯s a concern, Murphy said. Also concerning is the performance of Payamps, who has pitched eight times so far. Four were effective. In the four others, he¡¯s either allowed multiple inherited runners to score, or allowed multiple runs of his own.
¡°I think it¡¯s a matter of confidence right now,¡± Murphy said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything else. It¡¯s tough on any pitcher when you¡¯re giving up runs. He¡¯s had a couple of really tough outings.¡±
Murphy added, ¡°Hindsight is 20/20. And Megill didn¡¯t throw very well. He got hit hard. Credit the Diamondbacks. They¡¯re the ones who deserve the credit.¡±