Houser the heavy lifter as Crew takes opener

DENVER -- Blame it on jet lag. The Brewers flew into Colorado determined to turn their road trip around and stay within striking distance of a playoff berth, but their execution was out of sync with their expectations out of the gate. The idea of a turnaround seemed entirely unlikely after Colorado's first five hitters in the series opener reached base, part of a three-run first inning fueled by an error, two hits and two walks by starter Adrian Houser.

It would take six innings for the Brewers to climb out of the hole they had dug themselves, but Houser did the heavy lifting, beginning immediately after a first-inning walk to Rockies switch-hitting rookie Michael Toglia. After the first five batters got the best of him, Houser turned it around to retire the next 15 batters he faced, setting the stage for a 6-4 win at Coors Field on Monday afternoon.

“In the first, my stuff was there, I just wasn't able to get my direction right,” Houser said. “I was pulling off on some pitches and wasn't able to get them in the zone like I wanted to. I was able to reset after getting out of that and kind of get my direction right and get a lot of ground balls.”

It was Houser’s second start since spending all of July and most of August on the injured list with a right flexor strain, and he defied expectations at every stage.

“After [the first five hitters], he just got really dialed in and just filled up the strike zone,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The ball was on the ground, and he just attacked hitters. It's hard to do damage on the ground.”

Houser suffered a double-whammy of deep counts and tough breaks in the first. Leadoff hitter Ryan McMahon singled off the back of Houser’s left calf. Houser walked Brendan Rodgers, then C.J. Cron reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by second baseman Kolten Wong. Charlie Blackmon beat the shift with a two-run single through the hole at short, and another walk and a sacrifice fly took the tally to five. The mental adjustment to keep Houser's game together and avoid what looked like an unraveling act may have been bigger than any mechanical adjustment he made.

“It was pretty tough, but that’s just part of it,” Houser said. “You’ve got to stay locked in. You can't flinch, and you’ve just got to keep grinding and try to make pitches and get some outs.”

Milwaukee got on the board in the fourth with a Rowdy Tellez leadoff double, followed by a two-out RBI single to center from Andrew McCutchen, who came around to score on a double to left from Jace Peterson.

Tellez provided the spark again in the decisive sixth, leading off with a single to center. Wong was hit by a pitch and McCutchen singled to load the bases, setting up a Peterson sac fly to left and a Victor Caratini three-run blast 413 feet into the bullpen in right-center field, giving the Brewers a 6-3 lead.

“Three-run homers change games, and Vic’s homer changed the game today, absolutely,” Counsell said. “To be down 3-0 right away and then just pitch really well and score a bunch of unanswered runs -- a good team win again.”

The Rockies didn’t get a man on base again until Houser was out of the game in the sixth, and they didn’t score again until the eighth, when Cron launched a one-out solo shot to make it a 6-4 game. Colorado loaded the bases against reliever Taylor Rogers, but Devin Williams came in to shut the door, inducing an inning-ending groundout to protect the lead. He pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 10th save of the season and the first four-out save of his career.

“I don't really like [pitching here],” Williams said of Coors Field. “The more I spin the ball, the less it moves here, which is completely different than anywhere else. You're not necessarily just pitching against the hitter. You're also pitching against the elevation.”

The win pulled the Brewers within two games of a Wild Card spot, and it gave them a chance at turning a dismal road trip into a 4-3 affair if they can win two more in Colorado. It was also win No. 600 of Counsell's career as a manager, all of which have come with the Brewers.

“I don’t celebrate well,” Counsel said before the game when reminded that he was on the cusp of a big round number. “I'm in for the experiences, not for the milestones.”