Tomas, D-backs take advantage of Brewers' foibles
MILWAUKEE -- Archie Bradley had a plan and worked it perfectly.
Bradley pitched seven solid innings, Yasmany Tomas had two homers and five RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-1 on Wednesday night.
"I wanted to be more aggressive and attack the zone more than I usually do," Bradley said. "Come out the gate and throw strikes. Get our defense off the field and into the batter's box."
Bradley (4-6) allowed one run on four hits, walked three and struck out six in his longest start since going 7 1/3 innings in a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on May 29.
Bradley, a 23-year-old right-hander, allowed Jonathan Villar's lead-off double and nothing else until Hernan Perez hit a soft liner to right with two outs in the fifth. Perez's sacrifice fly in the seventh spoiled the shutout.
"He was painting," Perez said. "He was hitting the corners. He was mixing his pitches. (Catcher Welington) Castillo called a great game. His curveball was sharp. He threw the ball wherever he wanted."
Tomas and Castillo turned in two key plays in the first to help Bradley out.
Scooter Gennett followed Villar with a walk, and then Ryan Braun lined out to Tomas in right. Gennett hustled back to the bag trying to beat Tomas' throw, but after a 1:55 review, the safe call was overturned. Castillo then threw out Villar trying to steal third with two outs.
"The first inning was out of The Twilight Zone." Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It is not something I've ever seen. It was just strange."
Tomas supplied all the power. The Brewers' season-high five errors -- three by right fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis and two by shortstop Villar -- did the rest.
After capping a five-run first inning with a three-run shot, Tomas produced his fifth multihomer game this season when he sliced an 0-2 pitch from starter Jimmy Nelson (6-9) over the wall in right for a two-run shot in the fifth that put the game out of reach.
"Every time he takes a swing, it's dangerous," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. "He swings with bad intentions. He looks confident. He's getting pitches to hit late in the count and he's using the whole field."
Nelson left two batters after Tomas' shot in his shortest start since going 3 2/3 innings on June 15th against San Francisco.
Nelson matched his career high of eight runs for the third time. He walked two, struck out seven and slipped to 1-6 over his last 10 starts.
Randall Delgado took over for Bradley and pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
Arizona is 15-9 in its last 24 games against the Brewers.
RHP Zack Greinke (left oblique strain) is scheduled to make a rehab start for the Rookie-level AZL Diamondbacks on Friday at Salt River Fields. His pitch count is 60 pitches, up from the 40 he threw in a bullpen session at Miller Park on Tuesday. Manager Chip Hale said Greinke "felt great" during the bullpen.
Greinke will ramp up to 80 pitches following Friday's outing, possible with Arizona.
"We'll see how he feels after 60," Hale said. "Then, can we afford to have a guy that's only going 80, 85 pitches for us with how our bullpen looks? Eighty from Zack Greinke is pretty good."
The right-hander is 10-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 17 starts and has been on the disabled list since July 3.
Before the Diamondbacks batted in the third, Counsell took Villar out of the game. Counsell wasn't upset with his two errors in the top of the first, but rather Villar getting caught trying to steal third in the bottom half of the inning.
"That's just something he has to improve on," Counsell said. "He understands he made a mistake. We'll just move forward from it."
Diamondbacks: CF A.J. Pollock still aims to play this season after fracturing his right elbow in an exhibition game April 1. Hale said that after talking with trainer Ken Crenshaw, the Diamondbacks are hoping Pollock can be cleared to play games in the next couple of weeks. "As long as he's been out, you'd start all the way at the bottom and then work your way up," Hale said, referring to Pollock's possible rehab assignments. Pollock fractured the same elbow in 2010 and missed the entire season.
Brewers: RHP Jacob Barnes was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow soreness. ... RHP Michael Blazek was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (5-9, 4.93 ERA) makes his first career start and appearance against the Brewers. He's struck out five or more in 19 consecutive starts, tied with Miami's Jose Fernandez for the longest streak in the majors this season.
Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (7-4, 3.64) looks for his 10th quality start facing the Diamondbacks for the first time.
