Brewers rally for 4 runs in the ninth inning, beat Pittsburgh in 11 innings

Milwaukee overcame a four-run deficit in the ninth inning for the first time in 10 years and went on to beat Pittsburgh 6-5 in 11 innings.

The Brewers were down to their last strike in the ninth when Ryan Braun drove a 1-2 pitch down the third base line to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to the 10th inning. Then, in the 11th, Eric Sogard dropped a double into left field for what proved to be the game-winning run. It scored Omar Narvaez, who started on second base under new rules for extra innings.

Reliever David Phelps held up his end by retiring all six of the batters he faced, including the final two with a runner on third base. He moved to 1-0 on the year.

The win was the seventh time Milwaukee had come back from four runs down in the ninth inning to actually win and the first since 2004.

The game, which included a nearly two-hour rain delay, saw the Brewers offense fail to get much going in the first eight innings. When they did, they weren’t able to capitalize, especially in the seventh inning. Lorenzo Cain singled in a run to tie the game at 1, but Milwaukee couldn’t take advantage as Christian Yelich flied out to center with the bases loaded. In total, the Brewers left 12 men on base.

Pittsburgh had no such issues in the bottom of the seventh, as it exploded for four runs, including three off of reliever Devin Williams and another against Alex Claudio.

In the ninth, though, the Brewers finally woke up starting with a Justin Smoak single. A walk to Eric Sogard and a Lorenzo Cain single loaded the bases. Keston Huira grabbed an RBI after getting hit with a pitch. Another run came in to make it 5-3 on a Yelich ground out but they were down to their final at-bat. That left Braun as the only hope and he came in clutch, driving a 3-2 pitch down the third base line for a two-run double — his first hit of the season.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser pitched well going five innings and allowing just one hit — a solo homer by Colin Moran — and struck out four. Relievers Eric Yardley and Josh Hader joined Phelps in allowing jut one hit over the final four innings.

The win improved the Brewers record to 2-2. It’ll be the same teams Tuesday night with first pitch coming at 6:05 p.m.