MILWAUKEE — The biggest momentum swing for the Milwaukee Brewers involved no swing at all.
Jonathan Lucroy — “Mr. Squeeze” to his teammates — drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt and the Brewers broke away from the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in their NL division series.
“It’s a free RBI if you execute and I really work hard to get that down,” Lucroy said. “A safety squeeze, all you’ve got to do is get it down to the right area.”
Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer and fellow slugger Prince Fielder added an RBI single for Milwaukee. But the brawny Brewers excel in other ways, especially Lucroy.
“The little things matter,” said Jerry Hairston Jr., who scored on Lucroy’s bunt. “When you have guys like Braunie and Prince with the big power, the little things add up.”
Indeed.
The Brewers now hold a 2-0 lead in a postseason series for the first time in franchise history and will go for the sweep when Shaun Marcum takes on rookie Josh Collmenter in Game 3 in Arizona on Tuesday.
Lucroy keyed a five-run sixth inning, and delivered right after Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler became angry about a balk call. That’s when rookie Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke put on a play — he’d already seen Lucroy successfully bunt a few times this season.
“Good teams always take advantage of the other team’s mistakes,” Braun said. “There’s no doubt coming into that inning, they had the momentum.”
With the score 4-all and runners at the corners with one out, Hairston took a couple of half-steps and sprinted home as Lucroy bunted toward first base. Ziegler’s awkward flip went wide of catcher Miguel Montero and the Diamondbacks imploded from there, with Milwaukee taking a 9-4 lead.
“It was crazy,” Montero said. “I didn’t even get a chance to second-guess myself. It was like, ‘OK, here we go — boom, boom, boom, boom.’ I’m like, ‘What’s going on over here?’ “
Brewers starter Zack Greinke struggled in his first postseason appearance, giving up three home runs and leaving without a decision. He was 11-0 at Miller Park, helping the Brewers win a majors-best 57 games at home.
The Diamondbacks seemed poised for a come-from-behind victory after notching 48 this season when Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Young and Justin Upton all homered off Greinke to tie the game.
Instead, Arizona went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and Milwaukee kept its cool until the sixth, when seven consecutive batters reached with one out.
Hairston, making his second straight start in place of Casey McGehee at third, doubled to chase Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson.
“We’ve been down before,” Upton said. “It’s a special team we’ve got here. If anybody can come back and try and do this thing, it’s us.”
Key moment
Balk opens the door
In a 4-4 game, it took a gamble by Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke and Arizona’s meltdown in a five-run sixth inning. It started with Arizona reliever Brad Ziegler balking Jerry Hairston Jr. to third on a botched pickoff play, as Ziegler wheeled to second and found no one covering. Flustered, Ziegler walked Yuniesky Betancourt on four pitches, and the floodgates opened.
Star of the game
Braun rattles D-backs
Left fielder Ryan Braun, one of Milwaukee’s two most valuable player candidates, had a big day, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs. Braun gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a 438-foot home run, his first in the postseason. In the sixth inning, Braun’s RBI single chased Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler and gave Milwaukee a 9-4 lead.
Brewers lead series 2-0
Best of five
Saturday: Milwaukee 4, Arizona 1
Sunday: Milwaukee 9, Arizona 4
Tuesday: Milwaukee (Marcum 13-7) at Arizona (Collmenter, 10-10), 7:37 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Milwaukee at Arizona, 6:07 or 7:37 p.m.
x-Friday: Arizona at Milwaukee, 3:07 or 6:07 p.m. x-if necessary
