Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 15th home run in his return to the lineup to lead Milwaukee to a 3-2 win over the visiting New York Mets on Sunday, completing the Brewers' three-game sweep.
The outfielder, who missed the last six games with a back injury, clubbed a two-run homer off Mets starter Jason Vargas into Miller Park's upper deck for a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
During his MVP season in 2018, Yelich hit his 15th homer in his 91st game. He belted his 15th in just his 31st game this season, breaking a tie with Los Angeles' Cody Bellinger for tops in the league.
Milwaukee starter Zach Davies (4-0) tossed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits while striking out five and walking one.
Josh Hader struck out J.D. Davis, Pete Alonso and Todd Frazier in a perfect ninth to notch his ninth save.
Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain left the game after running into the wall and later being hit on the hand by a pitch, although X-rays on the hand were negative.
Amed Rosario had three hits, and Juan Lagares homered and Tomas Nido also drove in a run for the Mets, who have lost 11 of their last 12 in Milwaukee.
Vargas (1-2) allowed three runs on three hits in four innings, struck out five without a walk and left the game for a pinch hitter in the fifth because of hamstring tightness.
After Saturday night's 18-inning marathon that Milwaukee won 4-3 -- a Miller Park record for innings played -- the Mets manufactured a Sunday lineup that was without regulars Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Robinson Cano and Wilson Ramos.
After Manny Pina started the third with a double, Orlando Arcia hit a fly that right fielder Keon Broxton misplayed into another two-bagger to put runners on second and third. Cain then hit a sacrifice fly.
Milwaukee, which had homered in every home game this season except for the 18-inning epic, used the long ball to extend the lead to 3-0.
Yelich followed Cain with his blast on an 81-mph pitch on a 1-2 count, hammering the offspeed offering an estimated 440 feet to right field.
The Mets made it 3-1 in the fifth when Nido singled in Broxton, and Lagares lashed his second homer off Davies to get New York to within a run in the seventh.
--Field Level Media
NY Mets | Milwaukee | |
Jason Vargas | Player | Zach Davies |
Loss | W/L | Win |
4.0 | IP | 7.2 |
5 | Strikeouts | 5 |
3 | Hits | 6 |
6.75 | ERA | 2.35 |
NY Mets | Milwaukee | |
Amed Rosario | Player | Ben Gamel |
3 | Hits | 1 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
4 | TB | 1 |
.750 | Avg | 1.000 |