The Milwaukee Brewers look to set a single-season franchise record for road wins on Saturday when they continue their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.
The Brewers posted their ninth win in their past 12 games overall and majors-best 47th victory away from home with a 10-3 romp in the series opener on Friday. The 1982 team posted a 47-33 road record on its way to a World Series appearance.
So what’s the secret to Milwaukee’s success on the road?
“I don’t know. Guys just show up ready to go. That’s the biggest thing,” Lorenzo Cain told Bally Sports Wisconsin after he belted his third career grand slam on Friday. “Everyone’s locked in and putting together good at-bats. Just trying to go up there and be consistent. That’s the biggest thing.”
Luis Urias atoned for a pair of errors by launching a two-run homer for Milwaukee (87-55), which is 32 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.
“I have made a lot of errors obviously, but you learn from it,” Urias said. “In the end, it’s part of the game. And I was just trying to keep my focus on every (at-bat) and every play of the game.”
Urias leads the Brewers in runs (70) and extra-base hits (46). He ranks second on the club in hits (109) and RBIs (64).
Milwaukee will hand the ball Saturday to right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-4, 2.38 ERA), who is 7-0 with a 2.40 ERA in his past 16 trips to the mound.
Burnes, 26, allowed three runs on six hits in five innings of a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Burnes won his lone career start against the Indians last season after permitting one unearned run on three hits in six innings.
Cleveland’s Zach Plesac (10-4, 4.53 ERA) will provide the opposition on Saturday.
Plesac, 26, improved to 4-0 in his past five outings on Sunday after yielding three runs in five innings of an 11-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
He has yet to face the Brewers in his career.
Plesac likely would appreciate some offense from the Indians (69-70), who have mustered just nine runs total while losing four of their past five games.
Bobby Bradley, who had a two-run single on Friday, acknowledged that it’s difficult seeing the team unable to score runs despite routinely putting runners on base. Cleveland is hitting .071 (2-for-28) with runners in scoring position on the current homestand.
“It’s just tough when our guys do have good at-bats. It’s also baseball, so it’s not like we’re gonna come though 100 percent of the time,” Bradley said. “As players, we want ourselves to come through 100 percent of the time, so it’s just managing that. Even though (in) a big situation we make an out, just keeping our head up, knowing we’re still in the game and that we need to keep fighting.”
