Brewers fall 4-2 to Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Jarrett Parker hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh, Buster Posey hit a sacrifice fly, and the San Francisco Giants beat the contending Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Wednesday.
Hunter Strickland (3-3) pitched the seventh for the victory as San Francisco took the series against a Milwaukee club that had hoped to grab some momentum going into a tough weekend ahead on the road against baseball's best Dodgers. The Brewers began the day 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central, having won six of seven games before arriving at AT&T Park.
Stephen Vogt had his first career pinch-hit home run in the ninth for Milwaukee.
Carlos Moncrief added a sacrifice fly in the eighth before Sam Dyson, San Francisco's third reliever after Mark Melancon tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, closed it out for his 12th save in 13 opportunities.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Travis Shaw's RBI double after Domingo Santana hit a one-out double two batters earlier.
The Giants then loaded the bases in the bottom half with no outs on a leadoff double by Gorkys Hernandez, Kelby Tomlinson's single and a walk to Parker. Posey followed with a fly to left to tie it.
Hernandez doubled again leading off the third then was hit by losing pitcher Jacob Barnes (3-4) in the midsection during the seventh and flipped his bat in disgust after nearly being plunked in the fifth, when he struck out.
On Sunday, Posey took issue with Phillies closer Hector Neris and accused the reliever of hitting him on purpose — prompting San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy to call the Philadelphia pitcher an "idiot."
San Francisco lefty Matt Moore struck out six and walked two with five hits and a run in six innings of his first career appearance against Milwaukee. His last time out, Moore snapped a nine-start winless stretch during which he was 0-5 since a June 20 win at Atlanta.
Milwaukee starter Matt Garza struck out six over five innings, allowing one run and five hits with two pair of walks but left without a decision in a tie game.
The Brewers did little to support him, stranding runners on second and third in the sixth.
ERRORS
Ryder Jones' missed catch at first base on a pickoff attempt in the seventh allowed Manny Pina to advance to second and gave the Giants an error in their sixth straight game and 11 in the last 11.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: 3B Shaw fouled a ball off his right foot in the ninth and went down in pain but stayed in and drew a walk. ... LHP Brent Sutor threw his first bullpen session since going on the disabled list Aug. 13 with a strained rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder.
Giants: RF Hunter Pence sat out a day after he was a late scratch with a tight left hamstring. ... RHP Johnny Cueto (flexor tendon strain) felt fine after he threw 47 pitches in three scoreless innings of rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Sacramento. Bochy expects him to pitch once more in the minors before rejoining the Giants rotation. ... 2B Joe Panik, working back from a concussion, was set to play for Class-A San Jose at Visalia on Wednesday after he also played for Sacramento on Tuesday. It's unclear when Panik will rejoin San Francisco. ... 1B Brandon Belt (concussion) is doing cardio work but Bochy figures he is still two or three weeks away from being fully healthy.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (7-2, 2.83 ERA) takes the mound as Milwaukee visits the red-hot Dodgers on Friday night.
"Well, it's historic," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Los Angeles. "They're on a historic pace so you certainly respect that. There's not many teams saying they beat them. That's the bottom line. ... I'm looking forward to it. It's definitely a challenge. It comes at an important time in the season. And look, let's face it, the ultimate goal probably goes through L.A. at some point."
Giants: Following Thursday's day off, LHP Ty Blach (8-9, 4.59) pitches the series opener Friday at Arizona — his first career start vs. the Diamondbacks.