SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brewers reliever Jandel Gustave’s balk with the bases loaded allowed Wilmer Flores to score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the San Francisco Giants held off Milwaukee 2-1 on Saturday night.
Gustave replaced Brent Suter (1-3) with two on and two outs. After hitting Evan Longoria with a pitch to load the bases, Gustave got ahead of Mike Yastrzemski and had a 1-2 count when home plate umpire Pat Hoberg called a balk as a sold-out Oracle Park crowd roared.
“It looked like there was a little flinch there,” Yastrzemski said. “Obviously it’s not the most exciting way to win but we’ll take any win we can.”
Some Giants players were unsure about the call. Several Brewers players watched replays in the clubhouse afterward and shook their head in disagreement.
Crew chief Bruce Dreckman said it was “pretty cut and dry.”
“It’s a start and a stop,” Dreckman told a pool reporter. “When they start bringing their hands up, they can’t just bring them up and stop in mid-stroke of their pitching delivery.”
Dominic Leone earned his second save when he got Kolten Wong to strike out looking to end the game after the Brewers put the tying run on third in the ninth.
Darin Ruf homered for the second consecutive game, helping San Francisco win its sixth in eight games.
“It’s nice to win some of these close games,” Yastrzemski said. “We’ve had some heartbreakers this year where we’ve lost by one run when we’ve been in the game. It’s nice to just be on the winning side of that.”
Omar Narvaez had a sacrifice fly for Milwaukee. The Brewers’ lead in the NL Central fell to one game over St. Louis.
John Brebbia (5-1) retired two batters to win.
One day after the Giants hit three home runs off Brewers closer Josh Hader…
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