Brewers beat Rangers; Ortiz homers, Wilson pitches 6 scoreless innings
A general view of American Family Field during the sixth inning of a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers on June 25, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - Joey Ortiz hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth inning to put Milwaukee ahead for good and Bryse Wilson threw six shutout innings in the Brewers' 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Wilson (5-3) entered the game to start the third after Hoby Milner — normally a reliever — worked the first two innings. Milner became the 13th different pitcher to start a game for the Brewers this season, matching the Miami Marlins for the most of any team.
The six-inning stint matched Wilson’s longest of the season. He struck out four and allowed three hits and no walks.
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Ortiz led off the fifth by sending a 2-2 pitch from Andrew Heaney over the left-field wall for the rookie’s seventh homer and a 2-1 lead.
Texas scored in the first inning against Milner, who was making his first career start. The left-hander allowed back-to-back hits against left-handed batters, as Corey Seager doubled and came home on Josh Smith’s single.
The Brewers tied the game in the third when Jackson Chourio’s two-out single brought home William Contreras, whose leadoff double went off the top of the center-field wall.
Ortiz then put Milwaukee ahead with his homer. Heaney (2-9) struck out four and allowed two runs, six hits and two walks in five innings.
The Brewers won despite leaving 10 men on base and that inability to produce with runners on kept the game close.
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The Brewers got three walks against Brock Burke in the sixth, but Dane Dunning came out of the bullpen and caught a soft liner from Contreras to end the threat and keep the score at 2-1.
But the Brewers got an insurance run an inning later when Rhys Hoskins hit a slow roller to the left of second base that got past Seager and into shallow center for an RBI single. The two-out hit scored Christian Yelich from second after he had reached on a leadoff single.
Milwaukee's Elvis Peguero worked the ninth for his second save in four opportunities. Peguero got the call in the ninth after usual closer Trevor Megill had pitched each of the last two days.