PHOENIX (AP) — Emmanuel Rivera had three hits, Jake McCarthy added the go-ahead RBI single and the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Friday night.
The D-backs have won seven of their past eight games. Milwaukee fell to 7 1/2 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
Rivera had an RBI double in the fifth and added two singles. The 26-year-old has been a consistent contributor in the middle of the D-backs’ order since he was acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Andrew McCutchen walked with the bases loaded, forcing home Willy Adames. It was the third straight walk from D-backs reliever Kyle Nelson.
But the D-backs recovered quickly in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game on back-to-back doubles by Christian Walker and Rivera. McCarthy brought Rivera home with a single to give Arizona a 2-1 advantage.
Arizona’s bullpen threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Ian Kennedy worked the ninth for his 10th save in 14 opportunities.
D-backs right-hander Zach Davies was effective, but needed 91 pitches to navigate 4 2/3 innings. He gave up one earned run on six hits and a walk while striking out five.
Brewers left-handed starter Eric Lauer (10-6) gave up two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out five. Kyle Nelson (2-0) got the win for the D-backs.
It was the first time Davies and Lauer met on the mound since they were traded for each other in a Brewers-Padres swap in 2019.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
D-backs RHP Zac Gallen was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for August after finishing with a 5-0 record and 0.68 ERA.
The 27-year-old is in the midst of a 34 1/3 scoreless innings streak dating to Aug. 8. It’s the second-longest scoreless streak in franchise history behind Brandon Webb’s streak of 42 innings in 2007.
The D-backs have claimed back-to-back pitcher of the month honors. Right-hander Merrill Kelly won the award in July. Gallen makes his first start of September on Sunday.
TRAINING ROOM
Brewers: OF Christian Yelich was out of the lineup after leaving Thursday’s game because of a neck discomfort.
UP NEXT
The teams play again on Saturday. The D-backs will start LHP Madison Bumgarner (6-13, 4.87 ERA) while the Brewers counter with RHP Corbin Burnes (9-6, 2.84).
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
