4th-inning miscues set Crew back in loss

PHOENIX -- One half-inning at Chase Field on Sunday featured two web gems, two errors, two hit batsmen, a squeeze bunt and only one ball hit to the outfield.
The result of all that infield action was the first three D-backs runs of a 9-3 win on Sunday at Chase Field over the Brewers, who were left to lament their mistakes during a wild bottom of the fourth.
"I kept telling myself I'm one or two pitches away from getting out of it," said losing pitcher Jimmy Nelson.
He was on the mound for the entire inning and set himself up for trouble by following Yasmany Tomás' leadoff single with a pair of hit batsmen. That's when the drama began, with Brewers third baseman Jonathan Villar catching Tuffy Gosewisch's popup in foul ground before tumbling over the railing and into the D-backs dugout.

With Villar out of play, Tomas was awarded home on what was ruled a sacrifice fly. It cut the Brewers' lead to 2-1.
"It was a great play, and we'll take an out," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It's like a sac fly basically, but we'll take that out. It's better than letting it drop and let him keep hitting, for me.
"After that, we played poor defense."
The other Arizona runners also advanced when Villar tumbled over the rail, putting runners at second and third for Rickie Weeks Jr. to race home on Bradley's first-pitch squeeze bunt. Weeks Jr. broke so early that it looked like a suicide squeeze, but Arizona manager Chip Hale later said Weeks simply made a quick read.

Again Arizona runners were gifted an extra base apiece. This time, it was courtesy of first baseman Andy Wilkins' error on a throw home.
"It's a mistake," Counsell said. "There's no play at home there."
Nelson made it back-to-back errors when he fielded Jean Segura's comebacker and threw it over Wilkins' head at first base. The error plated another run for a 3-2 D-backs lead.
"I think the errors, I think we pushed the envelope a little bit," Hale said. "We had the squeeze that Rickie got a great jump on it -- it was really a safety squeeze that he just got a great jump on it, so it looked like almost a suicide. Archie made a good bunt, and we put some pressure on them and good things started to happen."
The Brewers prevented the inning from getting worse with their second highlight-reel defensive play of the inning. Catcher Martín Maldonado made a snap throw down to third base to pick off Bradley, who had strayed too far from the bag. Nelson then retired Michael Bourn on a groundout to end the inning.
"I could kind of sniff out that Maldy wanted to do that, too, because of the pitch he called," Nelson said. "He called a sinker away, and I could tell he wanted me to miss off [the plate], which, if the batter's not going to swing, gives him a good chance. That was a good play. That's one of the things that Maldy does. He's got that good arm, so he's always a threat."
After losing his fourth straight start, Nelson said, "It's not like mistake after mistake after mistake. It's just slipped in there at times where it amplifies things."
On Sunday, the Brewers' mistakes added up.