CINCINNATI — The Milwaukee Brewers set a single-season franchise record with their 14th straight victory Saturday. And, in keeping with recent form, it wasn’t easy.
The major league-leading Brewers rallied for the second straight game and beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 in 11 innings. This Milwaukee club set a new benchmark — so far — for consecutive victories, surpassing the 1987 team that opened that season by winning its first 13 games.
The Brewers will look to add to their streak in the series finale against division rival Cincinnati on Sunday.
Milwaukee’s overall record for consecutive wins is 16 games, from 1986-87, when they won their last three games in 1986 and their first 13 in 1987.
On Friday night, the Brewers’ run appeared to be in jeopardy before they rallied from seven runs down through two innings by scoring nine unanswered runs in beating the Reds 10-8.
Milwaukee looked to be in trouble again Saturday, but showed its resilience — for the second time in 24 hours — with the big blow being a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 11th by Andruw Monasterio.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Monasterio, who wears the No. 14. “I wasn’t ready for like 14 to 14. … That’s amazing.”
Monasterio was seemingly prepped for his showstopping and streak-extending moment.
“(Manager) Pat Murphy asked me to be ready three or four times,” the 28-year-old infielder said. “That was the fifth time he asked me to be ready during the game. He asked me in the seventh, ‘Are you ready for a big moment?’ I said, ‘Of course, yeah.’ But I didn’t know it was going to happen like this.”
Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester said his under-11-year-old team went 49-0 and called that fun.
“But not as fun as this,” he said.
Priester said the Brewers have been making the most of every chance provided by opponents.
“We’ve just been giving ourselves every opportunity, and then certainly when we get extra opportunities, we seem to take advantage every single time,” he said. “You get your opportunity, it’s time to go in and make a big swing, make a big pitch. When guys are getting their opportunities, we’re not timid, that’s for sure.”
The Brewers jumped to an early lead when Brice Turang doubled in a run in the second inning. The Reds got solo homers from Ke’Bryan Hayes and Spencer Steer in the sixth for a 2-1 lead.
As it turned out, the Reds helped Milwaukee keep its winning streak alive as the Brewers scored on a throwing error by Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz in the ninth to tie the game at 2-all.
And, the Brewers went ahead in the 10th when Anthony Seigler scored on an error by left fielder Jake Fraley.
Cincinnati battled back in the bottom of the 10th and tied it at 3-all on an RBI double by Hayes.
Ultimately, the Reds provided the Brewers with too many chances to continue their winning ways as Monasterio belted a three-run shot in the 11th — just his second of the season after his first on July 3 against the New York Mets.
The Reds pushed back again in the bottom half, cutting the deficit with a sacrifice fly by Santiago Espinal and trimming their deficit to a run on Noelvi Marte’s ninth homer of the year.
But Milwaukee prevailed when reliever Nick Mears got Matt McLain to fly out to the warning track in right-center, ending the game and extending the streak.
Milwaukee is now 34 games over .500 at 78-44 and boasts a nine-game lead in the NL Central over the Chicago Cubs. In the National League, the Brewers are eight games better than the East Division-leading Philadelphia Phillies (70-53).
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