Brewers: Corbin Burnes Sizzles as Gold Team Wins Second Straight

More solid pitching and early scoring has the Brewers Gold Team halfway to a Blue-Gold World Series title. Here are observations from the second scrimmage of the series.

It was same story, different day for the Brewers Blue Team in the Game Two of the Blue-Gold World Series on Wednesday night. The Gold Team jumped out to an early lead once again, this time holding the Blue Team scoreless en route to a 3-0 victory that put them ahead two games to zero in the series.

Even in a low-scoring affair, there were plenty of takeaways from Wednesday’s game. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights as well as some of the lowlights.

Burnes throws a personal no-no

The Blue-Gold World Series began with an excellent performance by Gold Team starter Brandon Woodruff on Tuesday night. Corbin Burnes decided to up the ante the next day.

Burnes was completely untouchable for the Gold Team on Wednesday night. The right-hander retired all 12 batters that he faced over four innings pitched, retiring seven via strikeout. Every pitch was working for Burnes on the night.

After spending plenty of time at the Brewers pitching lab at their complex in Arizona, Burnes was showing big progress in Spring Training earlier this year when he gave up just a run and six hits over ten innings with 13 strikeouts. With the fifth spot in manager Craig Counsell’s rotation still up for grabs, Burnes may have just put himself in prime position to grab it for himself.

Narvaez brings the offense

New Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez had a quiet night in the Game One of the series, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. The Milwaukee backstop turned things around in Game Two as he accounted for all of the Gold Team’s offense.

Narvaez started off the scoring with a two-run homer to center field that scored Jacob Nottingham. He would end up scoring the team’s only other run in the fourth when he walked and later scored on an RBI-single by Orlando Arcia.

After losing fellow catcher Yasmani Grandal to free agency last offseason, the Brewers traded for Narvaez to replace the missing production and give them a solid offensive catcher for the next few years. Wednesday’s game provided a glimpse into some of that offensive potential.

A few Brewers get dinged up

The Brewers unfortunately didn’t escape injury on Wednesday, though none of the injuries appear to be major. It began before the game even started when it was reported by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that Keston Hiura would be held out of the game, a move the team said was precautionary.

Then, Blue Team starting pitcher Brett Anderson was lifted from the game after finishing just two innings due to a blister issue. That move was also said to have been done out of an abundance of caution.

Finally, catcher Manny Pina was hit by a Josh Hader slider right around the left ankle that took him a bit to shake off. He would end up taking first base and finishing the inning.

The Brewers Blue-Gold World Series rolls on as the Blue Team attempts to rack up their first win in Game Three on Thursday. We’ll have more reactions for you after the game!