CINCINNATI — If you thought the Brewers’ run couldn’t get any more magical, you were wrong.
Trailing by seven runs in the second inning with a 12-game winning streak in serious peril, Milwaukee mounted a comeback for the ages to tie the game by the fourth inning and claim a lead over the Reds by the sixth on the way to a 10-8 win at Great American Ball Park — all led by longtime Brewers star Christian Yelich swinging a Bob Uecker tribute bat that he waited a full year to carry to home plate.
Yelich’s four-hit, five-RBI night and shutdown relief from a bullpen called into early action behind an ineffective Jacob Misiorowski added up to the 13th comeback victory in franchise history after a deficit of seven or more runs, and a 13th consecutive win for these Brewers, who have matched 1987’s “Team Streak” for the longest winning spree in franchise history.
According to Elias, it was the biggest comeback in MLB history to extend a winning streak to 13 or more games. The previous standard was five runs, by the 1934 Tigers for their 13th in a row and the 2002 A’s for their 19th.
If that Brewers team had its unforgettable Easter Sunday, when Rob Deer and Dale Sveum homered at County Stadium to erase a three-run deficit for a walk-off win and victory No. 12 of their 13-0 start, this Brewers team will forever remember the Friday night in August when Yelich honored Uecker, the late, legendary radio broadcaster who batted .200 in the big leagues and then made a career making fun of himself.
Uecker never had a night like this. Yelich hit a solo home run in the second inning, keyed the comeback from the Reds’ seven-run second inning with a run-scoring double in the third, tied the game at 8-8 with a two-run single in the fourth that left him a triple shy of his FOURTH career cycle against Cincinnati, then spoiled that bid in the sixth by belting a go-ahead solo homer instead.
He did it all with a bat that Yelich never got to swing last season. He was undergoing back surgery last Aug. 16 — on the first day of Major League Baseball’s Players’ Weekend — so the baby blue Louisville Slugger made especially for the occasion, with Uecker’s image and his signature home run call (“Get up! Get outta here! Gone!”) remained on the bat rack. Yelich and Uecker posed for a photo holding the bat instead.
This year, Uecker is on everyone’s mind during the Brewers’ first season without him. It was the perfect time to bring that bat out of storage, and the perfect moment to hit a home run.
It turned out to be just the start for Yelich, who has had Uecker on his mind while Milwaukee put together its latest winning streak.
“Of course,” he said. “That’s true for everybody around here.”
That’s especially true lately, with fans wearing Uecker T-shirts and sweatshirts, and bringing signs to the ballpark to show their belief in “Uecker Magic.”
“Obviously, I miss him,” Yelich said.
He was already missing Uecker in Spring Training, when Yelich posed with his custom bat while taking headshots on photo day, the result of a good suggestion from longtime equipment manager Jason Shawger.
As of Friday afternoon, Yelich wasn’t sure he would use the Uecker bat in a game. He needed to swing it in the batting cage first to see how it would feel, though he had a hunch he would. Even if for just one at-bat, Yelich wanted to give his old friend one last trip to the batter’s box.
His chance came when leading off the top of the second inning. Yelich fell into a 1-2 count against Reds starter Nick Martinez. The next pitch was a sinker “right down Wisconsin Ave.,” as Uecker used to say during his 54 years calling games on the radio for his hometown team.
Yelich didn’t miss it. His solo homer sailed to the seats in left field and briefly tied the game at 1-1.
It was his 24th home run this season, the 228th of his career, and surely one of the most memorable.
“I didn’t even sniff Players’ Weekend last year,” Yelich said. “I had surgery a year ago tomorrow. … I’m obviously in a much better spot than I was last year.
“What a big difference a year makes, that’s for sure.”
