Brewers Win in 13th as Lohse and Niese Duke it Out

Jun 12, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Lohse (26) pitches against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Lohse was looking to rebound from his previous start as the Brewers took on the Mets Thursday night in the rubber match of their three game series.

In his previous start, last Friday against Pittsburgh, Lohse gave up eight earned runs in just five innings of work.  It was as many runs as his previous four starts combined.

Lohse bounced back with a vengeance and went toe-to-toe with Mets top starter Jon Niese (3-3, 2.68 ERA) with both starters eventually giving in to the bullpens as the Brewers won in extra innings 5-1.

With the left-handed Niese on the mound for the Mets, Rickie Weeks started in place of Scooter Gennett for the Crew, but he still held the lead off spot where he struck out to open the game.

Ryan Braun followed with a strike out of his own and Jonathan Lucroy bounced to short to end the frame for Niese.

Lohse put the Mets down in order in the bottom half of the first.

Carlos Gomez flew out to center to open the second before Aramis Ramirez belted his seventh home run of the season to give Milwaukee the early lead.

Khris Davis followed with a four-pitch walk but was erased on a double-play ground ball to third by Mark Reynolds.

Rickie Weeks robbed Lucas Duda with a diving stop on a grounder to record the first out of the bottom of the second. Lohse struck out Chris Young for the second out. Andrew Brown bounced out to Weeks to end the inning.

Jean Segura picked up Niese’s third strike out to open the third inning and Lohse was his fourth. Weeks was hit by a pitch with two outs to bring up Braun, who collected Niese’s fifth strike out.

Wilmer Flores lined out to Davis to open the Mets’ third. Anthony Recker followed with a ground out to Segura. Niese followed by grounding out to Weeks to finish Lohse’s third perfect inning.

Lucroy led off the fourth with a fly out to Young in center. Gomez followed with a fly out of his own.  Ramirez took first after being hit by a pitch, Niese’s second of the game.

Davis knocked a single to right to move Ramirez to second and put two on for Reynolds. Reynolds went down as Niese’s sixth strike out victim to end the threat.

Murphy broke up the perfect game in the third with a single to center on a ball Gomez misplayed. Gomez came in late and missed the ball when playing it off a hop, allowing Murphy to move to third. Abreu flew out to Davis to drive in Murphy and tie the game at one.

David Wright followed with a single off the wall in left center and was gunned down at second by Gomez. Duda ended the inning with a ground out to Reynolds at first.

Segura led off the fifth with a line drive to center for his second hit in the series. Lohse sacrificed Segura to second. Weeks grounded to third for the second out to bring up Braun who also grounded to third to leave Segura stranded and the game tied.

Young reached to lead off the bottom of the fifth on a throwing error by Segura. Segura had the ball in plenty of time but the throw sailed high and Reynolds had to go up to get it.

Brown followed with a strike out. Young stole second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position for Flores who lined out to Davis in left to bring up Recker. Who grounded out to Segura to end the inning.

Lucroy lined out to Flores to lead off the sixth inning. Gomez flew out to Abreu for the second out ahead of a Ramirez single. Davis grounded out to Wright at third to end the frame.

Lohse allowed only an Abreu single in the bottom half of the frame.

A single by Lohse was the only offense the Crew could muster in the top of the seventh and Lohse worked around a Brown single in the bottom half of the frame.

After ground outs by Braun and Lucroy to open the eighth, Carlos Gomez singled to end Niese’s night. Jeurys Familia came on for Niese and got Ramirez to ground out to first. Niese’s final line was one run in 7 2/3 innings, on six hits and a walk while striking out eight.

Lohse put the Mets down in order in the bottom half of the frame.

Familia went back out to start the ninth and got Davis to line out to left. Reynolds struck out for the second out. Segura lined back up the middle and off of Familia, but he recovered and threw Segura out at first to retire the Brewers in order.

Super reliever Will Smith came on for Lohse in the ninth meaning Lohse couldn’t get the win he so richly deserved. His final line was eight innings, and one unearned run on four hits with no walks and three strike outs.

Smith struck out pinch-hitter Eric Campbell, hitting for Abreu, to open the ninth. Wright followed with a pop out to Weeks. Duda drew a walk to extend the inning for Young. Young rocketed a ball down the line, but Ramirez knocked it down and fired to first. The throw was wide and Young was safe at first, but Tejada grounded out to Ramirez to end the inning and send the game to extra innings.

Josh Edgin came on to pitch the 10th for the Mets facing Irving Falu, pinch-hitting for Will Smith.  Falu flew out to Young on the first pitch of the inning.

Falu was Edgin’s only batter and Jenrry Mejia came on to face the top of the order. He got Weeks to fly out to center and struck out Braun to end the inning.

Brandon Kintzler came on for the Brewers to toss the 10th. After a ground out by Flores, Recker reached on a single past Ramirez at third to put the winning run on base. Kintzler struck out den Dekker for the second out.

Murphy followed with a walk to move Recker to second. Campbell grounded out to Ramirez to end the threat.

Mejia went out for the 11th but hurt himself during warm-ups and walked off with the Mets’ trainer and Gonzalez German came on to pitch.

Lucroy struck out to start the frame, before the players got called off the field for a rain delay. They were off the field for about three minutes before the umpiring crew sent them back out. Gomez struck out and Ramirez popped out to Duda at first.

Kintzler came back out for the bottom of the 11th against the heart of the Mets order, and he walked Wright to lead off the inning. Wright stole second with Duda batting.

Duda grounded out to first, moving Wright to third. So the Brewers brought the infield in and went to Roenicke’s favorite five-infielder configuration with Braun on the infield and just Davis and Gomez in the outfield.

Kintzler walked Young to put two on and intentionally walked pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson, hitting for Germen, to face Flores.  Flores bounced to first, and Reynolds got the out at home, but the bases were still loaded.

Kintzler struck out Recker to end the inning, and Recker got tossed out of the game for arguing the call.

Carlos Torres came out for the 12th inning for the Mets. He got Davis to pop out to Flores before a Reynolds single to center. Segura followed with a single to right, moving Reynolds to third.

Scooter Gennett came on to pinch hit for Kintzler and struck out to cap a six-pitch at-bat. Segura stole second on the strike out. Weeks came up with two men on and two outs and struck out to end the threat.

Zach Duke came on for the Brewers in the bottom of the 12th. den Dekker flew out to center to open the inning. Murphy followed with a pop out to Segura. Duke struck out Campbell to end the inning.

Braun led off the 13th by legging out an infield single after a diving stop by Flores, and Lucory followed with a two-run home run (5) to put Milwaukee up 3-1.

Gomez singled to make it three straight hits and keep the rally going. Ramirez followed with a double and moved Gomez to third. Davis followed with a walk to load the bases.

Reynolds singled to left to drive in Gomez and leave the bases loaded with nobody out. That would be it for Torres and Dana Eveland came on for the Mets. Segura grounded to Wright at third, Wright went home for the out on Ramirez.

The bases were still loaded for pinch-hitter Martin Maldonado, hitting for Duke, with one out. He struck out for the second out. Weeks got hit by a pitch for the second time to drive in Davis and make the lead 5-1. Braun bounced out to end the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez came on to pitch the bottom half of the frame for Milwaukee. Wright opened the inning with a fly out to Braun. Duda followed with a strike out. Young ended the game with a ground out to short.

Zach Duke picked up the win for Milwaukee who will go back home for a three game set against the Reds.