Christian Yelich capped a six-run eighth-inning rally with a three-run pinch-hit home run to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 9-7 comeback victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox and a sweep of the opening three-game series on Sunday.
The Brewers, who trailed 7-2 after three innings, loaded the bases with one out in the eighth on two singles and a walk off Chicago reliever Chris Murphy. Brice Turang singled to make it 7-4.
Seranthony Dominguez (0-1) entered and got Wiilliam Contreras on an infield popout, but Luis Rengifo lined a two-run single to center to make it 7-6. Yelich then drove a 2-2 pitch 421 feet to right for his first career pinch-hit homer.
Trevor Megill gave up a leadoff single in the ninth, but then retired three straight for the save.
Munetaka Murakami hit his third home run in three games for the White Sox. Murakami, who played the previous eight seasons in his native Japan, joins Cleveland rookie Chase DeLauter, Trevor Story and Kyle Lewis as the only players to homer in their first three regular season major league games.
Colin Montgomery’s grand slam staked the White Sox to a 4-0 lead before Brewers starter Brandon Sproat recorded an out.
Sproat, acquired from the New York Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade this offseason, walked Chase Meidroth and Murakami to open. Miguel Vargas’ bloop single to shallow center loaded the bases. Montgomery then sent the first pitch 405 feet to center.
Milwaukee got two back in the bottom half on a two-out, two-run homer by Gary Sanchez.
The White Sox made it 6-2 in the second. Murakami, who hit 246 home runs in his career in Japan, made it 5-2 with his third solo homer in three games. Montgomery singled in another run to match his career high with five RBIs.
Everson Pereira’s one-out solo homer in the third put the White Sox up 7-2. Brandon Lockridge’s RBI single in the sixth pulled Milwaukee within 7-3.
Sproat yielded those seven runs on six hits and four walks in three innings. Jake Woodford (1-0) picked up the win by pitching scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth.
–Field Level Media
