Blake Perkins ill fated bunt attempt cuts short Brewers late comeback attempt

With two outs in the 9th, Blake Perkins popped up a squeeze bunt attempt to end the game

Jun 14, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson (37) tags out Milwaukee Brewers  first baseman Jake Bauers (9) trying to score in the ninth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 14, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson (37) tags out Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) trying to score in the ninth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Brewers have a young team. It's a major reason for their success but at the same time is a reason for some of their mistakes. The youthful mistakes came forward on Friday night.

Heading into the bottom of the 9th, the Brewers were down by three. Singles from Christian Yelich and Willy Adames plus an error from Elly De La Cruz allowed the Brewers to quickly load the bases. After that, it was four straight players with less than a year of service time.

Sal Frelick hit a soft liner for the first out. Joey Ortiz walked to make it a two run game, then Jackson Chourio delivered a big hit. Jake Bauers was thrown out at home attempting to score the tying run, leaving two outs for Blake Perkins.

With the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on second, Blake Perkins tried to drop down a surprise squeeze bunt. He popped it up to the pitcher who easily caught it for the final out to end the game. From the game being tied to losing in a matter of seconds.

"A youthful moment. It makes no sense, but I love this kid. I know it's tearing him up inside" Pat Murphy said after the game.

Perkins decided to bunt on his own. It was not called from the dugout. He explained his thought process behind trying to drop down a bunt.

"I know the guys behind me are statistically better hitters, and I thought it would be a surprise to them. I thought it was a higher percentage play for me... I was just trying not to be the hero I guess is the best way to put it. Obviously it was a mistake." Perkins said.

Had the bunt dropped to the ground, things could've turned out different. With two outs, Perkins would've needed to beat out the bunt for a base hit to get Turang to the plate.

On a team filled with young players, mistakes will happen. Perkins made one tonight, but he's not the only reason the Brewers lost. The Brewers offense struggled early in this game. They were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position before Jackson Chourio broke through with his single in the 9th. Chourio, another young player, reached base four times in this game with two hits and two walks.

The Brewers will look to bounce back tomorrow with Bryse Wilson on the mound against lefty Andrew Abbott.

manual