HOUSTON – William Contreras stood in the box as Justin Verlander peppered the zone with Hall of Fame four-seam fastballs. The 41-year-old Verlander was at the end of his rope, having thrown 12 pitches in the at-bat, 41 in the inning and 97 for the game, but was still reaching back with youthful vigor – and velocity – when he uncorked pitch number 13 to the Milwaukee Brewers catcher.
Verlander clipped the top of the strike zone at 95.4 mph, the sixth consecutive heater at or above that speed he had thrown to Contreras. The first five were fouled straight back by Contreras.
The sixth wasn’t.
Box score: Brewers 4, Astros 2
Contreras unfurled a ferocious swing, turning around Verlander’s four-seamer at 109.3 mph off the bat and in possession of a one-way ticket to danger. The ball crashed into the jutting landing in left-center field at Minute Maid Park, a three-run home run to give the Brewers a 4-1 lead and make it so that the Houston Astros’ Cooperstown-bound right-hander was only dugout-bound for the time being.
"I think that probably is the best at-bat I’ve had in my career," Contreras said. "I think mostly in part to the type of pitcher Justin Verlander is. It was a war out there."
Contreras' manager, who has seen his share of baseball in his 65 years of life, agreed.
“Yeah, that’s one of the best ones I’ve seen in my career, and my career is a hell of a lot longer than his," Murphy said. "That just made a statement about who the guy is. It represents our team. That at-bat, that’s mental toughness."
The Brewers didn’t score the rest of the way, but, along with a crisp showing from the bullpen, the blast almost single handedly lifted them to a 4-2 win over the Astros on Saturday night to snap Houston’s six-game win streak.
On the road, facing Verlander and against a red-hot club, was this the win of the year for the Brewers (27-18)?
"I feel like it is right this second," Murphy said.
Contreras caps the at-bat of the year with one of the swings of the year
Contreras continues to outdo himself.
The Brewers catcher entered the day riding a 24 game on-base streak, batting .373 with an OPS of .973 and having played in every single game for Milwaukee, a résumé that has him on the early-season MVP candidate shortlist.
Saturday might have been the pinnacle for the 26-year-old backstop to this point, though.
"Like 25 times already," Contreras said when asked if he had watched the homer back yet. "I’m going to go eat and then maybe (watch it) 100 more."
When Contreras came to the plate, Verlander was already in the midst of a grueling inning.
Joey Ortiz had singled to lead off the fifth, then Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio worked him for bases on balls. Blake Perkins registered a lengthy at-bat of his own, one that resulted in a game-tying sacrifice fly on the 10th pitch. After a Brice Turang groundout, Verlander was at 29 pitches already in the inning.
"We're out there to compete," Chourio said. "Whatever we can do to win the game, that’s what we’re going to do."
Up stepped Contreras. He fell behind, 1-2, before taking a couple of curveballs off the plate away to draw the count full. Then came a curveball.
Foul.
Fastball at 96.3 mph.
Foul.
Changeup.
Foul.
Contreras stomped around the dirt at the edge of the box, ever so slightly nodding his head. Verlander threw him four more fastballs up in the zone, each one whistled back to the netting or reaching the seats in the second deck.
Verlander had Contreras in swing mode and a breaking ball out of the zone. A breaking ball may have gotten a whiff out of Contreras. At the very worst, Contreras would have taken the open base at first and the Astros would have called in a reliever to face Christian Yelich.
But Verlander was in compete mode. He didn't get to where he is by giving in on the mound. And Contreras felt it.
"If he walks him he knows he’s coming out of the game most likely," Murphy said. "He’s a guy that has been in every situation and been successful in virtually every situation. I think he was doing what he thinks was right. I’m sure occasionally across his incredible career he’s ran across an at-bat like that. I’m sure he respects that."
Verlander went back to the wall for pitch 13. Contreras went 428 to left-center.
"He’s a tremendous pitcher," Contreras said. "Everyone knows the career he’s had, the triumphs he’s had. He’s got (three) Cy Youngs in there. Verlander is an unbelievable pitcher. It was a good war out there. I was able to win the battle."
Said Verlander: “ Great at-bat. We got in a fight. He won. I can go home and put my head on my pillow tonight. I made a bunch of good pitches. He’s one of the best hitters in baseball and he got me."
Bullpen delivers for Milwaukee
The relief trio of Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero and Bryan Hudson combined to get 10 scoreless outs to bring the game to the ninth with a two-run Brewers lead, which closer Trevor Megill then kept in order to earn the save.
Peguero worked a perfect seventh with a strikeout while Hudson maneuvered around a pair of one-out singles to keep the top of the Astros order off the board. Hudson has pitched 13 times with a lead or a tie and hasn't allowed a run.
Megill struck out three Astros in the ninth with a two-out single in between to notch his sixth save of the year. He's perfect in save chances since being moved unofficially to the closer's role.
Jackson Chourio had himself a day
Through his first three plate appearances Saturday, Chourio was 2 for 2 with two singles and a walk.
Getting the opportunity to face Verlander, Chourio said before the game, was one of his first real "Welcome to the big leagues" moments. Chourio was 15 months old when Verlander made his debut in 2005 with the Detroit Tigers.
"How old?" Chourio said when being informed of that before the game. "No way."
Chourio was so tickled by the nugget that he was spreading it in the clubhouse and on the field before the game.
"He told me during batting practice, he goes, 'Murphy you know I was one when he started playing Major League Baseball,'" Murphy said. "He thought that was so cool. He brought that to me."
Safe to say that when Chourio singled off Verlander in the second and then drew a walk and scored in the fifth that he was fired up.
"I remember watching him with Detroit, one of the best pitchers in the game," Chourio said. "He was fantastic."
It was Chourio's first time getting on base safely three times in a game since April 20.
Bryse Wilson exits before being eligible for the win
Staked to a three-run lead following a four-run top of the fifth by his offense, Bryse Wilson couldn't deliver a shutdown inning. He allowed a one-out homer to Jake Meyers and then two batters later Jose Altuve singled with two outs. Hoby Milner entered for the lefty-lefty matchups against Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez and got Tucker to roll over to second.
Wilson was at just 58 pitches when pulled and Murphy said after the game he contemplated leaving him in, but the consecutive lefty mashers was the spot that had been circled for Milner coming into the day.
Justin Verlander through four scoreless
Early on, there much doing for the Brewers offense against Verlander. They squandered a pair of one-out singles in the third inning with the top of the order due up but outside of that it was a trio of three-up, three-down innings for Verlander.
With a strikeout looking of Jake Bauers to end the fourth, Verlander passed Max Scherzer for 11th place on the all-time strikeouts list.
Former Brewer opens the scoring for Houston
Immediately after Wilson threw a wild pitch that advanced Jake Meyers to second base, former Brewers prospect Mauricio Dubon laced a run-scoring single to center to put Houston ahead, 1-0.
Wilson, after two no-hit innings to start the day, had spotty command in the zone in the third and gave up four hard-hit balls to the first four batters before walking the fifth.
Wilson got the benefit of a call from home plate umpire Dan Iassogna, whose zone was inconsistent at best, for a strikeout looking of Alvarez to escape the inning with runners on second and third.
Outfield relay gets the Brewers out of the second
For the second straight day, the Brewers ended an inning by cutting down a batter trying to stretch out an extra base on a hit. After Yelich started a relay to get Tucker at third on Friday, Frelick began one to retire Jon Singleton trying to leg out a double to end the second inning. Frelick cut off Singleton's hit in the right-center gap, threw to Brice Turang, whose relay beat Singleton to the bag.
Brewers time, TV, radio
The Brewers game starts at 6:10 p.m. Saturday.
TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620 and a state network
Milwaukee Brewers lineup
- Brice Turang 2B
- William Contreras C
- Christian Yelich DH
- Willy Adames SS
- Jake Bauers 1B
- Joey Ortiz 3B
- Sal Frelick RF
- Jackson Chourio LF
- Blake Perkins CF
- Bryse Wilson SP
Houston Astros lineup
- Jose Altuve 2B
- Kyle Tucker RF
- Yordan Alvarez DH
- Alex Bregman 3B
- Jeremy Pena SS
- Jon Singleton 1B
- Yainer Diaz C
- Jake Meyers CF
- Mauricio Dubon LF
- Justin Verlander SP
Brewers schedule
Brewers at Astros 1:10 p.m. Sunday: Milwaukee RHP Colin Rea (3-1, 3.45) vs. Houston RHP Spencer Arrighetti (1-4, 7.52). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Marlins 5:40 p.m. Monday: Milwaukee TBA vs. Miami TBA. Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Marlins 5:40 p.m. Tuesday: Milwaukee TBA vs. Miami TBA. Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Marlins 5:40 p.m. Wednesday: Milwaukee TBA vs. Miami TBA. Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: William Contreras' epic 13th-pitch blast off Justin Verlander carries the Brewers past the Astros
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