Brewers defeat Rockies 6-0, advance to NLCS

The Colorado Rockies began Sunday one game away from elimination in the National League Division Series, and a hope that a change of scenery would bring their lineup to life. Instead, it was the Brewers’ lineup that erupted, scoring six runs while holding the Rockies scoreless, and ending the NLDS three games to none.

We live blogged the entire affair, and you can find it below as a blow-by-blow recap of the end of the Rockies season — and the next step in Milwaukee’s.

Brewers vs. Rockies NLDS Live Results

Hello, it’s Marc Normandin, here for your live blogging needs. Want to read said live blog from the beginning? Scroll down to the “1st inning” marker and work your way back up!

9th inning: Wade Davis is in for his first appearance in the NLDS, which is a thing that happens when you never have a lead late. The Rockies’ Twitter account retweeted themselves from 35 minutes ago rather than make a new rally tweet, if you’re wondering how their night is going:

The good vibes were not good enough, because Orlando Arcia, easily the worst hitter in the Brewers lineup and not even in a complimentary relative sense, just went deep to make it 5-0.

Please stop sending vibes, Rockies fans, it’s backfiring. Keon Broxton just went deep to make it 6-0. By the way, in those two pitches, Arcia and Broxton combined to match the Rockies’ entire run output this series.

Lorenzo Cain walked, Christian Yelich walked, and there are still no outs. Please, refs, stop the fight.

We won’t get a stop to this game, but Bud Black did stop the bleeding or now, as he’s pulled Davis from this miserable outing. Here comes Chris Rusin. He’ll face Domingo Santana, who is pinch-hitting for Milwaukee’s pitcher, Burnes.

Santana walks on six pitches, so the bases are now loaded, all because of walks. Here’s Travis Shaw, and again, there are no outs yet. The count is 3-1. Rusin might walk in a run here. The ump calls the next pitch a strike, presumably because it’s raining and he’d like to go home. Shaw hits the next one way up in the air to Blackmon in center, and no Brewers’ runners try to advance on the play.

Nolan Arenado is so good at third base: a double play ends the inning without any further damage, and we’re off to the bottom of the ninth, where the last three outs of the Rockies’ 2018 live.

Hernan Pérez comes into the game and takes over at second, which moves Shaw over to first. Aguilar is now sitting, as the Brewers try to put a more defensive-minded lineup out there for the last three outs.

It’s closer Jeremy Jeffress on the mound, and he gets the first out with a liner to Shaw. Two outs left for Colorado. Jeffress starts things out just fine, getting Arenado to line out, but then Trevor Story hit a double, and Matt Holliday walked. With two on and the Brewers wanting to just end this, in comes Josh Hader to face Carlos González in the next instance of “is this the last at-bat he’ll have in a Rockies’ uniform?”

Hader has pitched 1-2/3 scoreless innings in the NLDS so far with three strikeouts. He’s in to just get the last two outs and send Milwaukee to the NLCS, to face either the Braves or the Dodgers.

González works a 2-2 count, but can’t do anything with a 97 mph heater on the outside on the next pitch, and strikes out looking. This is it: Ian Desmond, last hope for the Rockies. Will he make me look silly for all the writing in this live blog about how bad he’s been, or will he simply Desmond it and let us all go home?

He hits a fly ball on the second pitch to Lorenzo Cain, and that’s that: the Brewers are NLDS victors, headed to their second NLCS ever and third League Championship Series in history.

6-0 Brewers caps off a three-game sweep of the Rockies, and puts the Brewers in a position to wait to find out if they’ll be facing the Dodgers or Braves. They might not have to wait long, with the Dodgers up 2-0 and playing later on Sunday.

8th inning: The Rockies did not score any runs during the commercial break, either.

Colorado has another new pitcher: Seunghwan Oh. He kicks things off by allowing a Travis Shaw double. Aguilar follows with a mile-high fly ball (ha ha get it) that Holliday eventually gets underneath.

Now it’s Kratz, the enemy of every Rockies pitcher tonight, with two runners on after an intentional walk to Moustakas. He just misses on a ball hit down the third base line, and then on a foul shot directly to the backstop. Kratz wants that fourth hit!

He won’t get it, however, as he did the worst thing you can do while facing the Rockies, and hit the ball to Arenado. That started an inning-ending double play, but since the Brewers didn’t lose any runs for this, the Rockies are still in real trouble.

I went upstairs to get a drink and when I came back down, the Brewers were finishing off a 1-2-3 inning. So, uh, the Rockies have three outs left, and are still down 4-0.

7th inning: Adam Ottavino is the new Rockies pitcher, and he’ll face the top of the lineup. He retires Cain and Yelich without issue, and now has Braun on a 1-2 count. Braun grounds out, and Ottavino has a 1-2-3 inning.

Again, though, it’s not really Rockies’ pitching that has had their issues in this game or series. Colorado hasn’t scored in 16 innings, and they’re down to their last nine outs of the NLDS if that doesn’t change in a dramatic way.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Brewers start making some defensive-minded changes. Yelich is in left field now, and Keon Broxton takes over in right field. Soria is out of the game, replaced by Corbin Burnes on the mound — Burnes takes Braun’s spot in the lineup.

Carlos González starts off the inning with a strikeout, and Purple Row points out that very well could be his final at bat as a member of the Rockies:

See, just like I said they said.

Ian Desmond made an out, but you knew that. The Rockies have seven of them left in 2018. Ryan McMahon is pinch-hitting for Wolters with a righty on the mound. Dahl, Iannetta, and Parra are still on the bench, but they won’t be participating in this inning, as McMahon lined out to second. Six outs left for Colorado, Brewers still up 4-0.

6th inning: As said earlier, Marquez’s night is over, so the Brewers are into the Rockies’ bullpen. It’s Scott Oberg, and his first assignment is Jesus Aguilar. Aguilar is handled, but Moustakas gets a single, and you can tell how many Brewers fans are in attendance by the volume of the “MOOOOOOOSE” call that followed.

Kratz is 3-for-3 tonight and with five hits in the series — he just launched a double to deep right field, and now Moustakas is at third. There is just one out in the inning, and here comes... Orlando Arcia? Well, the bottom of the lineup had to come around eventually. Arcia makes an out, but the Brewers had one to spare, and now they’re up to the pitcher’s spot: Curtis Granderson will pinch-hit for Knebel, giving Milwaukee a chance to effectively blow this one open.

Hey, three or four runs would be basically insurmountable for the Rockies team we’ve seen this series.

Well, that’s embarrassing. Knebel got set on the mound and then dropped the ball, which is a balk, so now Curtis Granderson doesn’t even have to do anything at the plate: he already drove in a runner, sort of.

And that’s followed by a wild pitch, which scores Kratz to make it 4-0, Brewers. Curtis Granderson strikes out, but not before doing his job. Sort of.

Here’s Joakim Soria for the Brewers, who starts his outing out with four consecutive balls and a walk to LeMahieu. He gets a strike on his first pitch to Arenado, so don’t worry, Brewers fans, Soria didn’t forget how.

Arenado goes down swinging at a pitch he was embarrassingly fooled by, so here’s Story. The Rockies could use one of his very big homers right about now. And maybe another one next time he’s up, too.

Welp, Soria seems to be back in working order, as he strikes out Story, too. Matt Holliday follows up with a first-pitch line out to right, and the Rockies strand another baserunner. 4-0, Brewers after six.

5th inning: Wade Miley starts things off with an out — Costas is shocked Miley is even still in the game, because he hasn’t been paying attention — and then Cain finally picks up his first hit of the NLDS. He’s standing at first, and here’s Yelich. Cain’s time on base is short, as Yelich grounds into a fielder’s choice, and the Rockies get the lead runner.

Yelich steals second on an 0-2 count, giving the Brewers a runner in scoring position, but Braun is going to have to work to do something with that.

Or, Trevor Story could throw off-target to first base on a grounder, and then Desmond could fail to tag Braun at first, making everyone safe. Desmond’s jump did save the play from getting worse, but he didn’t get the tag or land on first, and now Shaw is up with men on the corners and two down.

And the Brewers’ good luck is immediately leveled out with bad luck: Shaw would have just had an RBI single, but the grounder hit Braun’s foot on the basepath for the third out of the inning. No run for Milwaukee, though, Shaw does get a single. I’m sure he’s thrilled about that.

Remember when I was talking about how bad Ian Desmond is at hitting? He just struck out against Wade Miley. Ian Desmond is what happens when you put all of your ability points into charisma and attractiveness and forget to add anything to offense.

Tony Wolters singles, and that signals the end of German Marquez’s day: Garrett Hampson is pinch-hitting for him to try to make something of this opportunity. Hampson hits a grounder — have you heard that one before? — and Wolters is cut down at second. Wolters avoids the double play, and this also marks the end of Miley’s evening. He picks up just two strikeouts, but limits the Rockies to three hits and four total baserunners while picking up seven groundouts. Here comes Corey Knebel to pitch to Charlie Blackmon.

I don’t think the Brewers’ pen is going to blow it or anything, but I don’t really agree with pulling Miley here. He was rolling, the Rockies’ offense has been bad all season, not just this past week. The conditions are favorable to Miley’s style with the weather... just let the pen rest a little more.

Of course, if they secure this victory tonight, they’ll have plenty of time to rest before the NLCS, but I’d still just leave Miley in a little longer. Knebel strikes out Blackmon, and we’re on to the sixth. 2-0, Brewers.

4th inning: It sure won’t be German Marquez’s fault if the Rockies lose this game and the series, assuming he keeps doing what he’s been doing. He breaks Shaw’s bat on a groundout, Marquez’s sixth of the game, to open the fourth.

I’d love to tell you about the solo homer Jesus Aguilar just hit, but it happened during a pre-taped interview with the manager that we apparently also needed a visual for instead of just audio. Between this and Bob Costas you’re on thin ice, MLB Network (and I am rooting for you to fall through it). 2-0, Brewers.

Eric Kratz has yet another hit, and I’m not going to look it up but I’m pretty sure he has more than the Rockies do this series. Marquez gets out of the inning all the same, though, and he’s at 55 pitches through four. Sure, he gave up a homer, but I’m still not blaming him for anything that’s happening here.

Trevor Story puts a ride into one, but the cold is working its dark magic, and the ball ended up in Braun’s glove. And now here’s Holliday with a flyout on the first pitch he sees in the at-bat: Miley has thrown just 48 pitches, and is nearly through the fourth inning.

And now he is through the fourth inning, following another ground out. Miley has struck out just one batter, but he’s also allowed only two hits, and he’s kept the ball on the ground. 2-0, Brewers.

3rd inning: The Brewers are back to the top of the order, which hasn’t been a problem as far as Lorenzo Cain is concerned: he flies out here, leaving him hitless for the series, still. Yelich is back up again, however, so Marquez can only celebrate for so long.

This time, Marquez gets Yelich on another comebacker. And then he gets Ryan Braun with a real good breaking ball to end a 1-2-3 inning. Runs are looking like they’ll be scarce today!

Marquez nearly picks up an infield hit to open the bottom of the third, but Moustakas gets the throw over to first just in time — now Blackmon comes up for the second time. He gets shifted, though, and Travis Shaw catches the ball in shallow right field without having to move much from his spot.

DJ LeMahieu makes his presence felt with a double. There are two outs, but Nolan Arenado is up, and he’s certainly due this series. Granted, everyone on the Rockies is due this series, that’s why they’re down 0-2, but still. Due!

Instead, Arenado hits a harmless grounder to short, and the Rockies strand LeMahieu. The Brewers are still up 1-0 after three.

2nd inning: Eric Kratz, Game 2 hero for the Brewers, reaches on a single up the middle, under Marquez’s legs. Orlando Arcia moves him over to second with a ground out, so the Brewers have another runner in scoring position. At least this time there are two outs, and Wade Miley is the one at the plate.

Miley sits down on a called strike three. Marquez is already at 29 pitches, but he’s through the second unscathed. 1-0, Brewers.

Got him:

It’s Trevor Story, Matt Holliday, and Carlos González up against Miley in the bottom of the second inning. Story leads off the frame with a hard-hit single to left field.

Maybe one of the most hilarious, understated stories of 2018 is that Wade Miley was a disaster for the Orioles in 2017 — he had a 5.61 ERA and made 32 starts, anyway — was granted free agency after the season, and ended up on the Brewers where he pitched very well and is now starting a postseason game. The O’s, by the way, somehow got worse without Miley: they’re one of three teams since the expansion era began to win fewer than 50 games in a season.

The Rockies are at least making Miley work a little harder in the second: he’s at 17 pitches, with Story on first and Holliday now struck out. González walks, bringing up Ian Desmond, which is not something anyone rooting for or on the Rockies is excited about in an important situation.

Desmond was a little better in 2018 than in 2017, his first with the Rockies, but he was still a below-average hitter overall, and the reason the Rockies had the worst production of any team at first base this season. By the time I finished typing out why you shouldn’t expect much from him, he harmlessly flew out to left for the second out of the inning.

Now it’s up to Wild Card Game hero Tony Wolters to keep the Rockies from salvaging something from this inning. The crowd is chanting “TO-NY,” but the encouragement wasn’t enough: he grounds out, the third Miley has induced, and the score stays 1-0, Brewers.

1st inning: I stopped playing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey to live blog this game, so we better get something great out of the Brewers, Rockies, or both.

Was German Marquez being careful with Christian Yelich, or unintentionally intentionally walking him? Either way, the Brewers have their first baserunner, and now Ryan Braun is up. By the way, it’s 46 degrees out in Denver, so while offense tends to be the predominant Coors Field theme, the conditions might lessen that effect tonight.

Maybe, anyway, I’m not putting anything past Coors.

Braun singles, advancing Yelich to third, followed by a Travis Shaw fielders choice that scores a run. The down-two-games-to-none Rockies are already down 1-0 in a win-or-go-home situation.

Marquez gets Jesus Aguilar out on a comebacker, ending the threat in the first inning. The Rockies are going to have to hope they have an answer to this deep Milwaukee lineup. 1-0, Brewers.

Good news, Rockies fans! The Brewers are, uh, not undefeated when they score first. Let’s roll with that.

You know, for the sake of your optimism.

Let’s not give the Brewers the W already or anything, though. The Rockies might have some lineup issues, but Wade Miley isn’t a dominant force: in fact, he’s a pitch-to-contact pitcher in a park where contact can doom a starter.

Well, Miley just threw eight pitches and got three outs, two of them on grounders.

[remembers it’s 46 degrees out and contact will likely have less oomph than usual because of it]

Ah, well, nevertheless.