ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Steven Souza Jr.'s game-ending home run saved the run-starved Tampa Bay Rays from a three-game sweep.
"That's the beauty of having guys who hit homers," said pitcher Chris Archer after Sunday's 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. "At any point it can change. This went in our favor and it was very, very exciting."
Souza hit his 24th homer off reliever Jacob Barnes to enable the Rays to salvage a win in a series in which they scored only two runs. It was Souza's first walkoff homer with the Rays, and the Rays' first in more than three years.
Their only other run of the weekend came earlier in the game on a double play.
"Unfortunately in this series, we just couldn't get that big knock," Souza said. "But it was great to come through."
Most of the game was a pitchers' duel between Archer and Jimmy Nelson of the Brewers, who are having their own problems producing runs. The Brewers have scored only 20 runs in their last nine games, five of which they won.
"Our pitching staff is doing a great job. You can't expect them to be absolutely perfect," said Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell. "We've got to find a way to put some runs on the board and give them a little more room for error."
The loss cost the Brewers a chance to move into first place in the NL Central. They started the day a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs.
Tommy Hunter (1-2) got the win for the Rays, who remained 5 1/2 game behind first-place Boston in the AL East and in the middle of a big pack of wild-card hopefuls.
"That's a pretty big win for us," Hunter said. "Hopefully it's a catalyst and we can get on a roll."
Barnes (3-3) threw only two pitches in relief of Nelson, who gave up one run on six hits while striking out nine in eight innings.
The Rays ended a string of 21 scoreless innings in the second, taking a 1-0 lead after loading the bases with none out. Logan Morrison, who had led off the inning with a single, scored when Wilson Ramos hit into a double play.
The Brewers tied it in the sixth on Orlando Arcia's 11th home run, the only run off Archer. It was the second homer and fourth extra-base hit of the series for Arcia, who is hitting .322 with eight homers in his last 70 games.
Archer gave up one run on three hits while striking out seven in six innings.
K FESTIVAL
The major league team leaders in strikeouts combined for 60 in the three-game series, including 18 in Sunday's finale. There was at least one strikeout in each of the 26 complete innings except for the sixth inning of the Brewers' 3-0 win on Saturday night.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: 3B Travis Shaw, who left Saturday's game in the second inning after being struck in the neck by a throw, entered Sunday's game as a first-inning replacement for Domingo Santana after Santana was hit on the right wrist by a pitch.
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier, who has missed 51 games with a hip fracture, worked out at Tropicana Field in the hopes of returning to a rehab assignment this week.
UP NEXT
Brewers: LHP Brent Suter (2-2) will face RHP Ervin Santana (12-7) at Minnesota on Monday night in the first of four straight against the Twins, the Brewers' final interleague games of the season.
Rays: A nine-game homestand continues Tuesday night with RHP Austin Pruitt (6-2) making his fourth major league start against LHP Chris Sale (13-4) and the Boston Red Sox.
"That's the beauty of having guys who hit homers," said pitcher Chris Archer after Sunday's 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. "At any point it can change. This went in our favor and it was very, very exciting."
Souza hit his 24th homer off reliever Jacob Barnes to enable the Rays to salvage a win in a series in which they scored only two runs. It was Souza's first walkoff homer with the Rays, and the Rays' first in more than three years.
Their only other run of the weekend came earlier in the game on a double play.
"Unfortunately in this series, we just couldn't get that big knock," Souza said. "But it was great to come through."
Most of the game was a pitchers' duel between Archer and Jimmy Nelson of the Brewers, who are having their own problems producing runs. The Brewers have scored only 20 runs in their last nine games, five of which they won.
"Our pitching staff is doing a great job. You can't expect them to be absolutely perfect," said Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell. "We've got to find a way to put some runs on the board and give them a little more room for error."
The loss cost the Brewers a chance to move into first place in the NL Central. They started the day a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs.
Tommy Hunter (1-2) got the win for the Rays, who remained 5 1/2 game behind first-place Boston in the AL East and in the middle of a big pack of wild-card hopefuls.
"That's a pretty big win for us," Hunter said. "Hopefully it's a catalyst and we can get on a roll."
Barnes (3-3) threw only two pitches in relief of Nelson, who gave up one run on six hits while striking out nine in eight innings.
The Rays ended a string of 21 scoreless innings in the second, taking a 1-0 lead after loading the bases with none out. Logan Morrison, who had led off the inning with a single, scored when Wilson Ramos hit into a double play.
The Brewers tied it in the sixth on Orlando Arcia's 11th home run, the only run off Archer. It was the second homer and fourth extra-base hit of the series for Arcia, who is hitting .322 with eight homers in his last 70 games.
Archer gave up one run on three hits while striking out seven in six innings.
K FESTIVAL
The major league team leaders in strikeouts combined for 60 in the three-game series, including 18 in Sunday's finale. There was at least one strikeout in each of the 26 complete innings except for the sixth inning of the Brewers' 3-0 win on Saturday night.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: 3B Travis Shaw, who left Saturday's game in the second inning after being struck in the neck by a throw, entered Sunday's game as a first-inning replacement for Domingo Santana after Santana was hit on the right wrist by a pitch.
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier, who has missed 51 games with a hip fracture, worked out at Tropicana Field in the hopes of returning to a rehab assignment this week.
UP NEXT
Brewers: LHP Brent Suter (2-2) will face RHP Ervin Santana (12-7) at Minnesota on Monday night in the first of four straight against the Twins, the Brewers' final interleague games of the season.
Rays: A nine-game homestand continues Tuesday night with RHP Austin Pruitt (6-2) making his fourth major league start against LHP Chris Sale (13-4) and the Boston Red Sox.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Milwaukee - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Sogard struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Santana hit by pitch. | 0 | 0 |
| Braun grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Santana out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Dickerson flies out to center fielder Broxton. | 0 | 0 |
| Duda struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Longoria grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Aguilar flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Thames flied out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Morrison singled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Souza Jr. reached on infield single to second, Morrison to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Miller walked, Morrison to third, Souza Jr. to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Ramos grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Morrison scored, Miller out at second, Souza Jr. to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Smith struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Piña grounded out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Broxton walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Broxton stole second. | 0 | 1 |
| Arcia struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Sogard lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Hechavarria struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Dickerson flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| Duda struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Shaw singled to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Braun lined out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Aguilar grounded out to third, Shaw to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Thames lined out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Longoria singled to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Souza Jr. grounded into fielder's choice to third, Longoria out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Miller singled to center, Souza Jr. to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Ramos popped out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Pérez struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Piña struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Broxton struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Smith struck out looking. | 0 | 1 |
| Hechavarria grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Dickerson grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Arcia homered to left center (421 feet). | 1 | 1 |
| Sogard flied out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| Shaw walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Braun singled to center, Shaw to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Aguilar struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Thames safe at first on error by pitcher Archer, Shaw to third, Braun to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Pérez struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Duda reached on infield single to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Longoria hit by pitch, Duda to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Morrison grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Longoria out at second, Duda to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Souza Jr. grounded out to third. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Chris Archer pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Cishek relieved Archer. | 1 | 1 |
| Piña grounded out to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Broxton struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Arcia struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Miller grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 1 |
| Ramos struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Smith grounded out to first. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Steve Cishek pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Jennings relieved Cishek. | 1 | 1 |
| Sogard walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Shaw grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Sogard out at second. | 1 | 1 |
| Hunter relieved Jennings. | 1 | 1 |
| Braun singled to left. | 1 | 1 |
| Aguilar fouled out to catcher. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Hechavarria grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 1 |
| Dickerson struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Duda hit a ground rule double to deep left center. | 1 | 1 |
| Bourjos ran for Duda. | 1 | 1 |
| Longoria walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Tommy Hunter pitching for Tampa Bay | MIL | TB |
| Thames singled to right. | 1 | 1 |
| Pérez reached on bunt single to first, Thames to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Piña grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Pérez out at second, Thames to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Broxton grounded out to third. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Jimmy Nelson pitching for Milwaukee | MIL | TB |
| Barnes relieved Nelson. | 1 | 1 |
| Souza Jr. homered to left center (444 feet). | 1 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Milwaukee Brewers | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Sogard 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | .278 | .384 | .402 |
| Santana RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .278 | .371 | .478 |
Shaw 3B
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | .291 | .365 | .556 |
| Braun DH | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .264 | .343 | .510 |
| Aguilar 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .277 | .333 | .512 |
| Thames LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .246 | .363 | .521 |
| Pérez 3B-RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .269 | .298 | .448 |
| Piña C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .287 | .333 | .439 |
| Broxton CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | .219 | .299 | .421 |
| Arcia SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .282 | .327 | .425 |
| Totals | 31 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 134 | |||
| BATTING HR: Arcia (11, 6th inning off Archer 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Arcia (39) GIDP: Braun, Shaw, Piña Brewers RISP: 0-8 (Thames 0-2, Pérez 0-1, Broxton 0-1, Sogard 0-1, Aguilar 0-1, Arcia 0-1, Piña 0-1) Team LOB: 7 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Broxton (19, 2nd base off Archer/Ramos) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 2 (Arcia-Aguilar, Sogard-Arcia-Aguilar). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| RF SANTANA (RIGHT WRIST) LEFT GAME BOT 1ST |
Game Information
| Stadium | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL |
| Attendance | 12,129 (39.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:46 |
| Weather | indoors |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Adrian Johnson, First Base - Eric Cooper, Second Base - Gary Cederstrom, Third Base - Gabe Morales |
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