MILWAUKEE — The long ball hasn’t been the Milwaukee Brewers’ strength this season, but the team with the best record in the majors put its power on full display on Tuesday night in a record-matching 22-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners.
The Brewers equaled baseball’s modern-era record for the biggest shutout with a power surge that included three-run homers from Christian Yelich, David Hamilton and Luis Lara and a two-run shot by Jake Bauers.
The Brewers have 117 home runs this season, the fewest in baseball, but as was pointed out by Seattle manager Dan Wilson, they have multiple players with the ability to go deep.
“They’ll put bunts down and put pressure on the bases and steal bags,” Wilson said before the game. “They also have the ability to hit the home run. You kind of have to prepare for all areas of the game.”
The Brewers also generated offense doing what they do best, pulling off a double steal in a five-run fifth inning that helped break open a tight game.
The 78-48 Brewers matched a franchise record for runs in a game, tying the 22 runs they scored at the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 28, 1992. The Brewers also had a season-high 22 hits.
“It’s one game but a pretty darn good performance,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I’d like to order that every night.”
The only other 22-0 victories since 1901 were by Pittsburgh over the host Chicago Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975 and by Cleveland at the Yankees on Aug. 31, 2004.
Yelich connected for his ninth homer of the season, a three-run shot off Bryce Miller in the fifth. The Brewers tacked on five more runs in the sixth.
“It’s kind of crazy. It happened fast,” Yelich said. “It’s always fun to be on this side.”
Bauers smiled as he struggled to find words to describe the Brewers offensive outburst.
“I’ve got nothing for you on that one,” Bauers said. “It was just good performance all around. Just good at-bats all night up and down the lineup.”
Bauers hit his team-leading 22nd home run of the season in the sixth inning and he’s now reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
The Brewers tagged Mariners infielder Leo Rivas, who came on to pitch in the eighth, for nine runs, which included a three-run home run from 21-year-old rookie Lara, his first career homer.
Lara took some good-natured ribbing about whether the homer counted since he hit it off a position player, but he was in a celebratory mood.
“For me, it all counts,” Lara said through an interpreter. “But I understand that it may not be common to get your first (home run) against a position player.”
Bauers and Yelich backed their young teammate.
“It’s a hard game. Every bloop single, dribbler single, home run off a position player, they all count,” he said.
Yelich urged Lara to embrace the moment.
“The first career homer is always cool,” he said. “Anytime you get to jog around the bases in a major league game is always special. It was cool for him to get his first one and smile and laugh about it.”
The Brewers also used a position player on the mound, veteran catcher/first baseman Gary Sanchez, with a much different result. Sanchez pitched a scoreless ninth with many in the announced crowd of 36,870 standing and cheering.
It was the third career pitching appearance for Sanchez and second this season. He has tossed two scoreless innings in the pair of outings the season.
“He did great. He was a showman as always,” Bauers said. “The crowd was involved. They loved it. He loved it. We loved it. But I still think he’s a better catcher than a pitcher.”
