Four Milwaukee Brewers pitchers on Sunday came within two outs of a combined, 11-inning no-hitter against the Yankees on Sunday in the Bronx. In the end, though, the Brewers wound up losing not only the bid for history but also a game that had bearing on the National League Central standings. With the 4-3 loss in 13 innings, the Brewers' lead over the Cubs in the division is now down to three games.
Before the Brewers, who were held scoreless themselves until the 11th inning, wound up falling at Yankee Stadium, the story was the no-hit bid. Starter Corbin Burnes did the heavy lifting for Milwaukee, as he worked eight hitless frames. From that point, three Brewer relievers – closer Devin Williams, Abner Uribe, and then Joel Payamps – pitched the next three frames. Williams twirled a perfect ninth, and Uribe kept the Yankees hitless in the 10th.
Uribe's inning was saved – as was the Brewers' hopes of winning the game – by the glove of rookie Sal Frelick with two outs and the potential winning run on second base:
The Brewers at last pushed across a run in the top of the 11th to take a 1-0 lead. With one out in the home half, however, Oswald Peraza ripped a Payamps slider for a double that ended the no-hit bid and tied the game. Had Payamps been able to keep the Yankees hitless in the bottom of the 11th and preserve the lead, then it would've been the first completed no-hitter in MLB history to last longer than 10 innings. It also would've been just the fifth extra-innings no-hitter ever.
The Brewers counterpunched in the top of the 12th with a pair of runs and seemed poised for victory. In the bottom of the frame, however, veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton came up clutch to tie the game once again:
In the top of the 13th, Anthony Misiewicz worked out of a two-on-two-out jam to send it to the bottom of the 13th. With one out and the automatic runner on second, Kyle Higashioka brought an end to the madness:
And that walk-off put the final touches on a very representative win-expectancy chart from this one:
File this one away if the NL Central tightens further and winds up going the Cubs' way, or maybe even the Reds' way.
Lost in the no-hit bid and the late lead changes was another gem from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. In seven innings against the Brewers on Sunday, he spun seven shutout innings with just three hits allowed and nine strikeouts and zero walks. Cole remains in the mix for the AL Cy Young award. Without his scoreless frames, the Yankees never would have had the opportunity to stage multiple comebacks in extras and wind up with the unlikely victory.