Milwaukee Brewers: Willy Adames Top 5 Moments of 2021

On May 22, 2021, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired shortstop Willy Adames in a deal that also netted them Trevor Richards and sent JP Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen to the Tampa Bay Rays.

This move turned out to be what some, myself included, say is the move that turned the Brewers season around. That said, let’s look at five of Willy Adames’ finest moments as a Brewer in 2021.

Willy Adames top moments of 2021: Game tying home run on August 7th

The Milwaukee Brewers were playing the second of a three-game series with the then 70-41 San Francisco Giants. The Milwaukee Brewers won the first matchup but were down 5-2 going into the bottom of the 10th inning.

Luis Urias hit a two-run home run that brought the Brewers within a run and Willy Adames with one out showed off some clutch hitting and hit a 416-foot bomb to tie the game. Unfortunately, this game was during a stretch where the Brewers were missing key bullpen pitchers and ultimately lost 9-6.

Willy Adames top moments of 2021: Another game tying home run on June 25th

In the third of what ended up being a seven-game win streak for the Milwaukee Brewers, Willy Adames hit another game tying home run. However, the Crew emerged victorious in this matchup.

Down 4-0 to the Colorado Rockies heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Brewers got solo shots in the next two innings from Keston Hiura and Kolten Wong. In the bottom of the ninth inning Willy Adames hit a game tying two run home run scoring Omar Narvaez. The Brewers went on to win 5-4 in 11 innings.

Willy Adames top moments of 2021: Adames helps beat Colorado on June 19th

Willy Adames already had three doubles against the Rockies in this game before stepping to the plate in the ninth, when he hit a go ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning that also scored Luis Urias, Adames’ fourth extra base hit of the night.

Josh Hader came in and recorded the save to ensure Adames’ home run was game winning.

Adames told Sophia Minnaert after the game that he was just looking to put the ball in play. Adames’ timely hitting helped the Milwaukee Brewers end a five-game losing streak thanks to his go ahead home run and a save by Josh Hader.

Willy Adames top moments of 2021: Go ahead home run against the Padres on May 27th

Just days after Milwaukee acquired Willy Adames, he was already contributing to key wins. The San Diego Padres came into American Family Field at 29-18 and won the last two games after the Brewers took the opener of the four-game series. Thanks in part to Willy Adames, the Brewers avoided a series loss to one of the better teams in baseball in late May.

The Brewers went ahead 2-0 in this game and in the bottom of the seventh found themselves down 3-2, but Willy Adames stepped in and helped kick start some Brewers magic that would begin the season turnaround of 2021. Adames hit a three-run home run that scored Kolten Wong and Christian Yelich to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead.

Ultimately, the Crew needed ten innings to wrap up the win, but it would not have been possible without the timely hitting of Willy Adames.

Willy Adames top moments of 2021: Adames Grand Slam on June 30th

My personal favorite Willy Adames moment of 2021 was a grand slam at the end of June, this moment particularly enjoyable because it came at the expense of the Chicago Cubs.

This game got off to a rough start, Aaron Ashby made his MLB debut and gave up seven first inning runs. Chicago fans were boasting that they were dominating Milwaukee and their new prospect, but they spoke too soon as the Brewers went on to score 15 unanswered runs including this grand slam by Willy Adames.

https://twitter.com/BallySportWI/status/1410336185495531523?s=20

The Brewers beating the Cubs came in the middle of what ended up being an eleven game losing streak for Chicago and turned them into sellers at the trade deadline, essentially ending their season and starting a rebuild.

Willy Adames was absolutely a catalyst for the Brewers turning their season around and became a fan favorite almost instantly after some initial questioning to why the team was bringing in a shortstop after trading Orlando Arcia to make room for Luis Urias to play every day, but they made it work and we all look forward to more moments like these in 2022.