Cody Freeman's solo homer in the fifth was Texas' first dent against Milwaukee, but the Rangers never caught the Brewers in a 5-3 loss Saturday at American Family Field.
Milwaukee improved to 85-51 with its fourth consecutive victory. Texas dropped to 66-70 and absorbed a fourth straight defeat, remaining two games behind Houston in the AL West after the Astros fell 6-2 to the Mets earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported.
First-inning homers set the tone
Jackson Chourio and William Contreras went deep in the opening frame against Cal Quantrill. Chourio's shot to center, his 20th of the year and measured at 396 feet by ESPN, came on a promotional night when fans collected cereal bowls bearing his name. Quantrill nearly worked out of trouble before Contreras connected on a 2-2 offering for a 409-foot drive to left, the AP noted.
Luis Lara's RBI single in the second, plating Christian Yelich after a double and a steal, made it 3-0. Lara was out stretching at second on the play.
Freeman, playing third base, reached on a hit-by-pitch in the third. When Brandon Nimmo punched a two-out infield single that might have loaded the bases, Freeman tried to score from second and Brice Turang threw him out cleanly at home. The AP called it a costly baserunning mistake that snuffed a potential rally.
Solo shot, then Milwaukee adds on
Shane Drohan (7-5) worked five innings, allowing six hits and one run with one walk and six strikeouts. The only run he surrendered was Freeman's fifth-inning home run to left-center. ESPN put the distance at 388 feet.
CBS Sports' box header lists the homer as C. Freeman (1), treating it as his first of the season; the AP recap described Freeman's solo shot and fifth-inning homer without attaching a season total. CBS also credits him with three RBI on the season batting line after the game.
Freeman finished 1-for-3. He flied out in the seventh and grounded out against Megill in the ninth.
The Brewers stretched the lead in the seventh. Contreras singled, Garrett Mitchell reached when Ezequiel Duran misplayed a ball (error No. 6 on the CBS box), Yelich singled, Lara drove in another run with a single, and Connor Pratt's sacrifice fly made it 5-1.
