Brice Turang’s 11th-inning bunt gives brewers walk-off victory over Royals.
Though it wasn’t the most damaged ball of the day, it was still really significant. After a difficult afternoon at the plate, Brice Turang lay down a flawless suicide squeeze bunt in the 11th inning to guarantee a dramatic 3-2 walk-off triumph for the Milwaukee Brewers over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. The triumph awarded the Brewers the series victory in the last game of their three-game series held at home.
Having struck out in his last three at-bats, Turang maximized his one last chance. On the very first pitch he saw from royal reliever Sam Long, he dropped a gentle bunt up the first-base line while the game was knotted in the bottom of the 11th and runners were on the corners. Perfect execution of the drama let pinch-runner Oliver Dunn score from third and start celebration at American Family Field.
On both sides, the contest highlighted excellent pitching efforts. Going eight innings and only dropping two hits and one run, Brewers starter Freddy Peralta was outstanding. Retiring the last 19 hitters he encountered in dominant fashion, he struck out eight and did not issue a single walk. Lefty Cole Ragans of the Royals struck out ten batters in five innings, yielding only one run on five hits and two walks.
Early on Milwaukee joined the board due to Jackson Chourio’s single first-inning blast—his third hit of the day. Kansas City answered in the second inning, though, with a pair of timely strikes included a game-tying single from Cavan Biggio and a ground-rule double by Michael Massey.
In extra innings the sides traded leads. Massey blasted an RBI single off the glove of a diving Rhys Hoskins, giving the royals a 2-1 lead the top of the 10th. But the Brewers responded straight back in the bottom of the period, with Chourio delivering once more—this time with a clutch double down the left-field line to tie it at 2-2. Carlos Estevez escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam to ensure Kansas City would have a game.
In the seventh inning the Brewers presented another scoring threat that put runners on second and third with no outs. But combining to get out of the congestion without any damage, Royals relievers Angel Zerpa and Lucas Erceg escaped.
After throwing a scoreless top of the 11th, Jared Koenig won for Milwaukee and created conditions for Turang’s wonderfully placed game-winner. Originally a pitcher’s duel, it evolved into an afternoon of clutch performances, major events, and a touch of small ball magic to finish it.
