Jeff Niemann shines as Tampa Bay Rays defeat Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 – MLB Update
Jeff Niemann pitched six strong innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 at Miller Park, Milwaukee on Monday, June 20.
"Everything felt great," Niemann said. "The biggest thing is it's just nice to be back and be in this clubhouse and be a contributing member of the team again. That was the hardest thing while I was down on the DL, they've been playing great and it was good
to chip in."
With B. J. Upton’s timely single in the very first inning, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead, Niemann pounded the Brewers’ defence with ruthlessness. The starter who has recently missed a few games due to injury, performed brilliantly.
"To pitch that well really gets you going in the right direction, no question about that. You're always going to have those negative thoughts in the back of your head that you've got to squash somehow," Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said.
Niemann kept pitching scoreless innings while the Rays’ offence weighed the options of opening the bat at an appropriate moment. Chris Narveson pitched relatively well in the inning after allowing a run in the first inning.
While Niemann had his seemingly unassailable dominance on the game, the Rays’ offence charged the Brewers’ starter in the seventh inning which also proved to be a game turner in an otherwise scoreless game.
Justin Ruggiano doubled to deep left to increase the lead for the Rays and Ben Zobrist went for another single, tripling the lead for his team. Evan Longoria got the innings’ third and team’s fourth run as Upton drove in the team’s fifth run in the eventful
seventh inning.
J.P. Howell relieved Niemann in the seventh inning that allowed Jonathan Lucroy to score a single, bringing the Rays’ lead down to 5-1. However, the Rays’ offence had a bigger surprise in store for the straining Brewers’ defence.
Longoria hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to put an end to the Brewers’ hope to make a comeback in the game, taking the Rays’ lead to 8-1. Effectively in charge of the game, Tampa Bay brought Cesar Ramos to pitch in the eighth inning.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a two run homer to give the Brewers a sense of relief. But that was perhaps too little too late, as Prince Fielder gave it a last attempt with his single to left centre bringing the lead down to 8-4 in the ninth inning.
However, Kyle Farnsworth sent other hitters packing to earn the Rays a valuable 8-4 win in the three-game series’ first encounter whose second game will be played on Tuesday.
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