BALTIMORE (AP) — Freddy Peralta struck out 11 in six outstanding innings, and the Milwaukee Brewers hit three home runs in an 11-1 rout of the Baltimore Orioles that included a bench-clearing incident in the sixth inning Friday night.
Gary Sánchez, Willy Adames and William Contreras went deep for the National League-leading Brewers (9-3), who have scored 47 runs in their last five games. They scored three runs each in the second, fifth and sixth innings to take the series opener.
“It was amazing,” Adames said. “They had a really good approach today at the plate and put up a lot of good at-bats, and the results were there when we needed it.”
Intrigue built for the matchup when Milwaukee traded ace Corbin Burnes to the Orioles for left-hander DL Hall and infielder Joey Oritz just before spring training. Hall pitches Saturday and Burnes takes the mound Sunday.
Ortiz had his first big league three-hit game Friday. That included an RBI triple in the second — shortly after Sánchez opened the scoring with a two-run homer — and a run-scoring single in the ninth.
The other big draw of this series was the “Jackson vs. Jackson” matchup of two top prospects. That didn't amount to much in Friday's opener. Baltimore's Jackson Holliday, the game's top-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, struck out in all three of his plate appearances. Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio, ranked No. 2, went 0 for 6 with three strikeouts of his own.
Holliday was making his home debut for the Orioles, with a crowd of 32,205 on hand. Fans gave him a standing ovation before each at-bat — and many remained standing while he was at the plate — but the infielder is struggling at the start of his career. He's 0 for 11 with seven strikeouts in three games.
Benches and bullpens cleared — although no real fighting took place — after Orioles catcher James McCann came face to face with Adames as he came to bat in the sixth. It wasn't clear what the dispute was about, and the main participants didn't give much info afterward.
Peralta (2-0) allowed five hits, including Colton Cowser's solo homer in the fourth. He did not walk a batter.
Peralta was making his 100th start. He's particularly important to the Brewers now that Burnes is gone and Brandon Woodruff is coming off shoulder surgery that will keep him out until 2025.
“I think he's been made the ace, so he's stepped into those shoes,” manager Pat Murphy said.
Tyler Wells (0-2) yielded four runs and six hits in four innings.
Adames' three-run homer off Jonathan Heasley in the fifth made it 7-1. Contreras hit a two-run shot the following inning, two batters before Adames came up and a scuffle nearly ensued.
Baltimore's Jorge Mateo made a catch while slamming into the wall in center field in the ninth on a drive by Rhys Hoskins.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: OF Christian Yelich singled in the first inning, then exited the game in the second with low back discomfort.
UP NEXT
Hall (0-1) takes the mound against his former team Saturday. Dean Kremer (0-0) starts for the Orioles.
