Rowdy Tellez jump-started the Brewers’ offense with a two-run homer and Tyrone Taylor added a three-run shot to back Eric Lauer’s seven scoreless innings and pace Milwaukee to a 7-0 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Friday.
Tellez snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the sixth and the Brewers added five more in the eighth.
The Nationals had Lane Thomas get thrown out at the plate trying for an inside-the-park homer in the top of the seventh, then turned a triple play in bottom of the inning.
After being blanked on two hits through five innings by Erick Fedde, the Brewers opened the sixth with a walk by Luis Urias. Urias was forced at second as Christian Yelich reached on a fielder’s choice. Tellez followed with his ninth homer, sending the first pitch 400 feet to right.
Lauer (4-1) allowed five hits with five strikeouts, no walks and one hit batter in his 83-pitch outing. Devin Williams allowed a double in a scoreless eighth and Aaron Ashby followed with a perfect ninth.
In the seventh, Thomas hit a one-out drive for a hit to right-center. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe got the ball to second baseman Kolton Wong, whose relay to catcher Omar Narvaez was in time to retire Thomas. The aggressive mistake proved costly when Riley Adams followed with a single to left.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Nationals turned their second triple play since the team moved to Washington. Jace Peterson and Wong walked to open the frame against Carl Edwards Jr. Urias followed with a hard grounder to third baseman Maikel Franco, who started the around-the-horn triple play.
The franchise’s only other triple play since moving from Montreal in 2005 occurred on July 29, 2016, against the San Francisco Giants.
The Brewers added five runs in the eighth off Austin Voth on a two-run single by Renfroe and Taylor’s second homer of the season.
Fedde (2-3) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Milwaukee won for the fourth time in five games while Washington dropped its fourth in five games.
–Field Level Media
