Travis Shaw’s walk-off walk wins it in 10th for Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Travis Shaw’s bat did plenty of talking Friday night.
It was responsible for a home run, a run-scoring single and a double. But it turns out he got his greatest applause just for standing at the plate.
The slugging third baseman drew a bases-loaded walk off New York Mets reliever A.J. Ramos to deliver the winning run with two outs in the 10th, as the Milwaukee Brewers enjoyed a 4-3 victory over the Mets at Miller Park.
Ramos relieved Jerry Blevins with runners at first and third, walked Hernan Perez on four pitches then skipped his 3-1 pitch to Shaw to end it.
“Take until you get a strike. I was ready to go 3-1. I was 100 percent taking until I got a strike,” Shaw said. “He struggled versus Hernan. I wanted to make sure he threw me a strike ... the last two pitches weren’t that close.”
Ramos couldn’t explain his sudden wildness.
“I was just trying to find a way to throw a strike. It was obvious that they were just waiting to get a good strike and I just couldn’t find it for some reason,” Ramos said.
That scored Eric Sogard, who singled with one out off Robert Gsellman (4-1) to spark the rally and snap an 0-for-28 skid that dates back to before a stint in the minors. Sogard, recalled from the minor leagues earlier in the day, advanced to third on Christian Yelich’s single off Blevins.
“He was the guy I was looking for after the game,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Sogard. “He helped us win a game. It was nice for him to contribute like that in his first game back.”
Both teams had late scoring opportunities erased on the basepaths. Asdrubal Cabrera was thrown out at second in the top of the 10th by right fielder Domingo Santana after trying to stretch a single.
“Domingo’s throw was beautiful,” Counsell said.
Shaw was doubled off second after charging for home on Manny Pina’s hard liner to left to end the ninth.
“I’m not really fast, so I’ve got to get going, running on balls like that,” said Shaw, who knocked in three runs. “It’s a bad read. I thought the ball was down.”
Jeremy Jeffress (4-0) picked up the win with 1⅓ scoreless innings. He was the fourth pitcher, coming in after Junior Guerra went six strong innings and Josh Hader followed with a scoreless pair.
But the Mets rallied in the ninth against what Mets manager Mickey Callaway called “probably the best ’pen in baseball” before the series started.
The Mets (25-22) tied it at 3 when closer Corey Knebel allowed two walks with two outs before giving up Jose Bautista’s tying single.
The rally bailed out ace Noah Syndergaard from being tagged with a loss. The long-haired right-hander struck out eight over six innings, allowing six hits and three runs, though the National League Central-leading Brewers (32-20) got to him early with Shaw’s solo shot in the second.
The Brewers scored two runs in the third by being aggressive on the bases. Lorenzo Cain and Yelich each singled and stole second before being driven home by singles of Syndergaard.
“I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job at varying my (delivery) times. I didn’t really give (catcher Devin) Mesoraco much of an opportunity to throw guys out based on times,” he said. “And, I didn’t give him really quality pitches to handle, so that one’s on me.”
Arcia sent down
The Brewers sent slumping former top prospect Orlando Arcia to Class AAA Colorado Springs as they made several tweaks to the major league roster.
The 23-year-old shortstop is hitting .194 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.
“We know he’s continued to do it on the defensive end, but he can do better on the offensive end,” Counsell said “And he’s shown that to us. He’s shown us a lot better. This is an attempt to try to get back to that.”
General manager David Stearns said he expects Arcia to get on track and rejoin the Brewers.
“But at this point we believe the best chance for him to get back to being the offensive player that we know he can be is to spend some time at Triple-A, get some consistent results, consistent at-bats, and then get back here and contribute offensively,” Stearns said.
The Brewers called up Arcia in August 2016 when he was the top prospect in the organization. He hit just .219 in 55 games that season, but in 2017 he hit .277 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs.
The Brewers called up Sogard from Colorado Springs in a corresponding move. He had been with the Brewers this season but was demoted after hitting just .100 in 60 at-bats.
Sogard figures to share time at shortstop with the recently acquired Tyler Saladino, who was hitting .400 in 11 games entering Friday.
Kratz in, Bandy out
The Brewers also acquired catcher Erik Kratz from the New York Yankees in exchange for a player to be named or cash, and designated catcher Jett Bandy, who was hitting .188, for assignment.
Kratz was hitting .269 with four homers in Class AAA. Kratz will back up Pina.
Kratz, 37, has appeared in 228 major league games for seven teams, hitting .203.
“I’ve played my last game for probably the last 12 to 13 years,” Kratz said of the chance to play again.
The team also recalled right-hander Adrian Houser from Class AA Biloxi and sent right-hander Jorge Lopez to Class AAA.
Up next
The Mets on Saturday will go with left-hander Jason Vargas (1-3), who is 21-11 in 50 career starts in May for a .656 win percentage, the highest of any month for his career.
The Brewers will counter with right-hander Chase Anderson (4-3), who allowed one run on two hits in a 6⅓-inning outing against the Mets on April 14.