MILWAUKEE _ This has not been a pitcher-friendly series, to say the least.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox were at it again Wednesday night at Miller Park, grinding out long at-bats and chewing through the respective staffs. As if the opening 11-7 slugfest Tuesday weren't enough.
The good news for the Brewers was that they came out on top for the second consecutive night, holding on for a 7-4 victory that was every bit as tough to protect as the series opener. These two offenses just don't quit.
The Brewers' best offensive inning has been the first and that trend continued against Boston starter Kyle Kendrick. With two down, Ryan Braun walked, Travis Shaw punched an infield single to the left side and Domingo Santana laced a run-scoring single up the middle.
When Hernan Perez followed with an RBI hit to left, the Brewers had a 2-0 lead and a total of 35 first-inning runs in 34 games.
Brewers starter Chase Anderson pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the first inning but the Red Sox kept after him. Leading off the second, Jackie Bradley Jr. took a curveball just off the plate to left field and over the wall for a home run.
Anderson stranded two more runners in the third, but the Red Sox drew even in the fourth when Christian Vazquez doubled with one down and scored on Mookie Betts' two-out single.
Boston continued to make Anderson work hard for outs, and when his pitch count reached 99 with two on and two down in the fifth, manager Craig Counsell had seen enough. He summoned Rob Scahill, who stranded the runners to keep it a 2-2 game.
The Brewers snapped that tie in a big way in the fifth with a four-run rally, mostly at Kendricks' expense. It started with consecutive doubles by Keon Broxton and Eric Thames and carried on with an RBI groundout by Shaw, a throwing error by Vazquez on a double steal by Shaw and Santana, and a run-scoring single by Perez.
The Brewers padded their lead to 7-2 in the sixth on another throwing error by Vazquez. With Thames stealing second base, the Boston catcher tried catching Broxton creeping off third and threw the ball into left field.
