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A20 SPORTS
Monday 8 october 2018

Brewers sweep Rockies, advance to 1st NLCS since 2011

By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports a great start from Wade ature was 46 degrees — With two on, Josh Hader against Milwaukee’s stingy
Writer Miley. He did a beautiful and was even tougher on got Ian Desmond to fly out pitching. Colorado’s three
DENVER (AP) — Wade Miley job keeping them off bal- Rockies hitters. The wily left- to end the ninth and start All-Stars — Story, Arenado
pitched masterfully into the ance.” hander allowed three hits an on-field celebration. and Charlie Blackmon —
fifth inning before turning finished the series with a
it over to a lights-out Mil- combined five hits.
waukee bullpen, 38-year- “We got into the dance.
old catcher Erik Kratz kept We fought, but we might
up his torrid hitting and the not have played our best,”
Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black
Rockies 6-0 in Game 3 on said. “Part of that is the op-
a cool, misty Sunday to position, how they played.
sweep their NL Division Se- But again, our guys played
ries. how you’re supposed to
The Brewers have won 11 play. That’s what I’m most
straight dating to the regu- proud of. They came to
lar season and advance play every day. They came
to their first NL Champi- to play in this series, and
onship Series since 2011. they got outplayed.”
They will play the winner of This is how well it went for
the Dodgers-Braves series, the Brewers on the drizzly
starting Friday at Miller Park. day: They scored twice in
With manager Craig Coun- the sixth without a hit —
sell making all the right one on a balk and another
moves, Milwaukee’s pitch- on a wild pitch, with Kratz
ing staff held Nolan Are- lumbering home for the
nado, Trevor Story and the second run.
bruising Rockies to a com- The 31-year-old Miley
bined two runs and 14 hits Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after the final out by the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of endured a bumpy sea-
in the series. Of the 28 in- Game 3 of a baseball National League Division Series Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, in Denver. son that saw him suffer a
nings in the matchup, wild Associated Press strained groin in March and
card Colorado scored in later miss two months with
only one of them. Making his postseason de- over 4 2/3 innings. The first one to greet Hader a right oblique strain. He
“The story of the series for us but, Miley toughed the el- A procession of five Brew- was Kratz, who made his bottled up the Rockies with
was certainly our pitching,” ements — he wore short ers relievers allowed one hit second postseason start a cutter, curve and an ef-
Counsell said. “We got sleeves when the temper- the rest of the way. and finished 3 for 4 with a fective change.
double. Marquez went five innings
Acquired from the New and allowed two runs be-
York Yankees in May for a fore being lifted for a pinch-
player to be named, Kratz hitter. He got the start over
is making quite a name for Denver native Kyle Free-
himself in the playoffs. He land, whose 2.40 at Coors
went 5 for 8 in the series. Field this season was the
“Our pitching staff doesn’t lowest mark for a starter in
get enough credit,” said franchise history.
Kratz, who was doused THIS & THAT
over and over with spar- Brewers OF Christian Yelich
kling wine in the Brewers went 0 for 3 with two walks.
clubhouse. He made his major league
Orlando Arcia and Keon debut at Coors Field on July
Broxton hit back-to-back 23, 2013, and collected his
homers in the ninth off first two big league hits that
Wade Davis to make it 6-0 day.
and end any sort of drama. ... Arenado wore a face
Jesus Aguilar had a solo mask late in the game due
shot in the fourth off Ger- to the cool conditions. ...
man Marquez that Coun- OF Carlos Gonzalez lost the
sell sort of predicted. grip on his bat in the ninth
The Brewers manager said and it wound up in the
Saturday, “Aggie is going screen by the Rockies dug-
to hit a home run in the out. ... The Rockies have
playoffs, a big homer with lost 11 of their last 13 post-
men on base, I promise.” season games.
Granted, it wasn’t with UP NEXT
men on base. But it was still Brewers: Await the winner
big and gave the NL Cen- of the Braves-Dodgers se-
tral champs a 2-0 lead. ries in the NLCS. Rockies:
That was more than enough That’s a wrap until 2019,
against a Colorado offense when they start the season
that was shut out twice March 28-31 with a four-
in the series and hit .146 game series in Miami.q