By ,
Published May 03, 2016
Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Martin Maldonado ended both a 17-inning marathon and Milwaukee's seven-game losing streak with a solo home run that staked the Brewers to a 7-6 decision over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Maldonado's game-winner, a blast to straightaway center off Vidal Nuno, capped a four-hit, two-RBI day for the catcher and enabled the Brewers to avoid a three-game series sweep.
Matt Garza (3-7) also played a big part in the longest game in Miller Park history. Scheduled to start Monday's series opener, the veteran instead turned in five scoreless innings in a superb emergency relief effort.
"These guys laid it down for 17 (innings). Whatever they need, I was going to do," Garza said. "After the second inning I knew I had ruined my start, so I said, 'Why not? Let's go.'"
Nuno (0-1) was outstanding as well, with Maldonado's homer just the second hit yielded by the lefty over 5 1/3 innings in which he struck out six.
Jean Segura also had four hits and two RBI for Milwaukee, which earlier overcame a four-run deficit to take a 6-5 lead before Arizona's Mark Trumbo tied it with a solo homer in the eighth inning.
Paul Goldschmidt capped a terrific series by going 3-for-4 with a solo homer and drawing four walks for the Diamondbacks. A.J. Pollock finished with three hits, including an RBI single, as well in defeat.
Though neither team had much trouble putting up runs off starting pitchers Chase Anderson and Tyler Wagner, scoring was at an absolute premium after Trumbo connected off Jeremy Jeffress to forge a 6-6 tie in the eighth.
Both clubs stranded two in the ninth before Garza and Nuno became locked into a tense duel in which neither hurler blinked until Maldonado crushed a first- pitch fastball off the batter's eye in center to finally finish the epic five- hour, 49-minute affair.
"I saw something up and put a good swing on it," Maldonado said. "That's what I was looking for. I was really tired so I was happy to end the game like that."
Arizona's best chance off Garza, who allowed three hits and a pair of walks, came when Pollock smashed a ground-rule double to open the 13th and was pushed to third on a bunt from Cliff Pennington. But after Goldschmidt received his second of three intentional walks, Ender Inciarte popped up in the infield and Garza retired Trumbo to keep the game deadlocked.
"We had many opportunities to score. We couldn't get the job done," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale remarked. "Early in the game, we were rolling, but we sort of let it get away there."
The Diamondbacks had built a 5-1 lead by battering Wagner for five runs and nine hits over 3 2/3 innings in the rookie's major league debut. Milwaukee clawed back, though, by putting up a run in the fourth and two more over the next two frames.
Consecutive two-out singles by Luis Sardinas and Maldonado, the last plating Jason Rogers from second, started the Brewers' comeback. Segura then began the bottom of the fifth with a triple to right and came home when Braun singled two batters later, and Carlos Gomez followed with a hard double off the wall in right center to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Anderson's afternoon was done after Sardinas singled and Maldonado doubled to put two on with none out in the sixth. After reliever J.C. Ramirez uncorked a wild pitch to bring in the tying run, Segura laced a base hit over a leaping Chris Owens at second base to give the Brewers a 6-5 edge.
Anderson was charged with a season-high six runs and gave up 10 hits in five- plus innings of work.
Goldschmidt gave Wagner a rude introduction to the big league by belting his third homer in two games in the top of the first. Arizona struck three times against the young righty in the second, which Trumbo began with a double and took third on Yasmany Tomas' single prior to coming home on Wagner's wild pitch.
RBI singles by Chris Owings and Pollock later in the inning increased the Diamondbacks' advantage to 4-0.
Doubles by Maldonado and Segura got Milwaukee on the board in the third, but Pollock tripled an inning afterward and was pushed home on a Pennington fly ball to put Arizona up 5-1.
Game Notes
The previous longest game held at Miller Park was a 16-inning matchup between the Brewers and Nationals that went five hours and 22 minutes on June 24 of last season ... Goldschmidt reached base a Diamondbacks-record seven times and went 9-for-14 with three homers, five RBI and five runs scored for the series. He's now 26-of-51 (.510) with seven homers and 17 RBI lifetime at Miller Park, the best average of any player at the venue ... Garza's relief outing was his fourth in 232 career major league appearances and first since July 7, 2010 with Tampa Bay ... D-backs outfielder David Peralta left the game in the first inning after being struck in the left hand by Wagner's pitch while attempting to bunt ... The Brewers are expected to activate All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy (broken toe) from the 15-day disabled list for Monday's game in St. Louis, though the team had to place left fielder Khris Davis on the DL after he injured his right knee during Saturday's game.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/brewers-best-diamondbacks-in-17-inning-thriller