After Jerry Hairston, Jr. roped a double to left field to lead off the sixth inning, Kirk Gibson yanked starting pitcher Daniel Hudson from the game. Hudson had thrown only 93 pitches, but he wasn't missing a lot of bats. In came right-handed specialist Brad Ziegler.
Brewers Take Lead On Safety Squeeze, Bludgeon D-Backs’ Bullpen
Ziggy didn’t have the best of days.
The look on his face says, “Wait, is a 108.00 ERA bad? Guys, c’mon, is it? Ha ha. Come on, guys. You guys gotta let me know.”
After Ziegler came in, he balked Hairston to third. Then he walked Yuniesky Betancourt on four pitches -- a feat that's as rare as it is unlikely, like allowing a home run to Mariano Rivera. Then Jonathan Lucroy put down a safety squeeze, with Ziegler throwing the ball away. Gibson ordered an intentional walk to load the bases with one out -- always a good gag -- and Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, and Ryan Braun all hit consecutive RBI singles.
Ziegler entered a 4-4 game. He left a 9-4 game. Woof. But other than the balk and hits and walks, he didn’t pitch that poorly.
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