'We're going to take advantage': Red-hot Brewers run wild vs. Twins

MINNEAPOLIS -- Playing in weather better suited for a jungle safari than a baseball game, the Brewers could have sat back, conserved their energy and taken their chances at outslugging the Twins on Saturday.

But that’s not how this Milwaukee team plays. Instead, the club kept the pressure on Minnesota with aggressive baserunning and relentless hitting, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings. That was more than enough for a 9-0 win on a brutally hot and humid day at Target Field.

Jose Quintana pitched six scoreless innings as the Brewers ran their winning streak to three and reached a season-high seven games over .500 (42-35). With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s and the dew point in the low 70s, the Brewers scored early and late. In between, they played flawless defense behind Quintana.

“Overall, it’s our identity as a team. We’re going to take advantage of the little things like baserunning and playing solid defense,” said third baseman Caleb Durbin. “We’ve been able to do that, and we were able to do that the last couple of days. I think it’s been the separator for us.”

Durbin demonstrated what that identity looks like in the second inning, when he turned what looked like a routine force play into a huge momentum-builder for the Brewers. With Isaac Collins on second and Durbin on first, Joey Ortiz hit a chopper to third baseman Jonah Bride.

It could’ve been a double play, but Durbin’s head-first slide into second beat Bride’s throw, and Twins second baseman Brooks Lee was too stunned to even try to get an out at first base.

Collins came around to score on Jackson Chourio’s sacrifice fly, and Durbin scored on Christian Yelich’s two-out single to make it 4-0.

“I think that’s the biggest play of the game,” said manager Pat Murphy. When asked what went into making that play possible, he added, “Durbin being a winning player and understanding the speed of the game, understanding how he can take his lead to the limits, how important it is to get that good first step after that ball is hit.”

Durbin explained how he got such a great jump even though he wasn’t running with the pitch.

“The first baseman’s playing off quite a bit with a righty at the plate, so I knew I could be pretty aggressive with my secondary [lead]. I just kind of anticipated that play, knowing that I’ve got to beat the throw to second,” Durbin said. “I saw it down right away, and I was able to beat it just by a little bit.”

The seeds of that play were planted back in February, when the Brewers gathered in Phoenix.

“It's worked on in Spring Training each and every day, and they [complain] about it each and every day,” Murphy said of the team’s focus on fundamentals. “It’s not pleasant, but it's part of every day. I don't know that we do it better than anybody else. I'm sure all the teams are doing it. But we have the personnel that makes it.

“And we have to play that way because we're not gonna sign the guy from third base for 22 million. We're not going to do that. We could have a [Matt] Chapman, [Nolan] Arenado, [Manny] Machado, but we're gonna probably have a third baseman that's gonna have to run the bases [or] a second baseman who’s not going to hit for power. We’re not that team, so let's jump on that bandwagon and make sure we base run.”

Meanwhile, after walking four of the first 11 Twins he faced, Quintana locked it down and retired 11 of his last 13 batters. Quintana only struck out one, but he limited the potential damage by allowing just three hits.

“He was bobbing and weaving the first couple of innings, but again, we don’t give [catcher] William [Contreras] enough credit for getting him through it, and I think Jose would be the first to say that,” Murphy said.

The Brewers scored five runs in the final two innings, thanks in large part to a couple of Twins defensive miscues. So far in this series, Milwaukee has scored 26 runs on 30 hits, none of which were home runs.

“Probably should get in the weight room,” Murphy quipped. “I like homers a lot. Let’s make no mistake about it. But it’s swinging at strikes, taking balls and keeping the pressure on the other team.”