Shortly after several of his players spent part of their pregame time on Friday watching the Chicago Cubs lose to Arizona, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell described scoreboard watching as much about passing the time as worrying about the postseason chase.
“That’s just entertainment while the game’s not going on, and when the game’s going on, you got a job to do and you do it,” Counsell said. “Everybody knows that the best way for us to have success is to take care of our job today. Watching other teams play is entertainment is how I see it.”
Counsell and the NL Central-leading Brewers took care of business Friday night in part with a three-run rally in the seventh inning against the host Yankees. Milwaukee can clinch a series win on Saturday afternoon in New York.
Milwaukee (78-62) is three games ahead of the Cubs after opening the series with Friday’s 8-2 win. The Brewers scored three more runs in the eighth inning, and had nine of their 16 hits over the seventh and eighth innings.
William Conteras hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh, scored later in the inning, and added another hit in the eighth. Willy Adames hit a tying homer in the fourth and added an RBI double in the seventh, while Carlos Santana hit a pair of RBI singles and Andruw Monasterio chipped in a two-run double.
The Yankees (70-71) will honor the 25th anniversary of their historic 125-win 1998 championship team at their annual Old-Timer’s Day on Saturday. The ceremony will be highlighted by former captain Derek Jeter’s first appearance at the event.
“That’s a big deal,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s Derek Jeter, pretty cool. I got to see him a couple of times, so it’ll be nice to have him here tomorrow, and I know obviously the fan base is pretty juiced about it and frankly all our players.”
After the event, the Yankees will attempt to avoid a third straight loss. New York is 10-6 since dropping nine straight last month, and its only offense Friday was a two-run homer by Jasson Dominguez, who has gone deep four times in seven games since making his debut last week.
Left-hander Wade Miley (7-4, 3.33 ERA) will go for the Brewers. He is 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA in six starts since returning from a left elbow injury. Miley took the loss on Sunday when he allowed four runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. It marked his longest outing since returning.
Miley is 0-4 with a 5.68 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees, who faced him nine times between 2015 and 207 when he pitched for other teams.
Michael King (4-5, 2.88) will continue to get stretched out as a starter for the Yankees. It will be his fifth start of the season. King threw a season-high 69 pitches and earned the win Sunday in Houston when he allowed one run on five hits in five innings.
King, who is 1-6 with a 5.33 ERA in 14 career starts, is facing Milwaukee for the first time.
—Field Level Media
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