Burnes, Williams bookend Crew's thrilling win

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Brewers have two players who were selected to the National League All-Star team, but ask anyone within the inner-workings of the team, and they’ll tell you there should be three.

Right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes’ spot is set, and he’ll represent the team in Los Angeles on Tuesday, though he won't pitch. Closer Josh Hader was also selected, but he has opted to forego the festivities in favor of being with his family.

The omission was reliever Devin Williams, who locked down the 10th inning Thursday in the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Giants and extended his streak of consecutive scoreless outings to 26.

That streak spans 24 2/3 frames, including a masterful job in the final inning of the series opener at Oracle Park. With one out, Mike Yastrzemski -- who started the 10th as the automatic runner -- stole third, giving Williams no margin for error as he faced the next two batters.

Williams struck out Austin Wynns and induced a flyout from LaMonte Wade Jr., securing the NL Central-leading Brewers’ 50th win.

“What he's doing is incredible,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “It's dominating, really. He's an elite reliever in the game -- not the league, the game. He's an elite reliever.”

Whether Williams will be added to the NL All-Star team will depend on if a space opens up. There are usually a handful of roster changes at the last minute, which gives deserving players who didn’t make the first cut a rightful spot on the team.

Williams shrugged when asked if he’ll feel nervous over the final few games before the break.

“Nervous about what?” Williams said. “I already didn't make it. The only thing I can do is keep pitching. There's really nothing to be nervous about. Even if I go out and give up a run, it doesn't really change the case that I have. I don't have any control over that.”

That’s two questions surrounding the Brewers on the topic of the All-Star Game: Will Williams be added? And should Burnes start the Midsummer Classic?

A glance at Burnes’ numbers suggests he has a case. He wrapped up his first half with a dominant showing against the Giants, who managed four hits and only three hard-hit balls -- defined by Statcast as registering 95 mph or more off the bat -- over 7 1/3 innings.

Relying more on his cutter/changeup combination vs. a heavily left-handed San Francisco lineup, Burnes struck out 10 batters, and in doing so, he set a Crew record. It was his 19th career game with double-digit strikeouts, surpassing Yovani Gallardo, who logged 18 10-plus strikeout games in his eight-year Milwaukee career.

It’s notable that Burnes set the record in nearly half the time, reaching the mark in his fifth season, which includes the shortened 2020 campaign.

“Usually, it's the cutter and the curveball that we get swings and misses with, so it's encouraging to see that the change has come a long way from where it was in 2020 to now,” Burnes said. “Definitely have to build off that and get back to work on the cutter.”

Burnes’ chances to start the All-Star Game might be remote, but more due to circumstances and not performance. He has had a strong first half, one comparable to his first half in 2021, when he was on his way to capturing the NL Cy Young Award. In his past seven starts, Burnes has a 1.59 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He’s pitched at least seven innings in four of his past five outings and hasn’t allowed more than five hits in any start since June 3.

If Burnes doesn’t start the All-Star Game, it’ll be because NL manager Brian Snitker decided to go one of two directions: selecting a sentimental favorite -- either Clayton Kershaw or Tony Gonsolin, who pitch for the host Dodgers -- or simply going with the pitcher who has the lowest ERA in the NL (1.73) and the most innings pitched (130 1/3), Miami’s Sandy Alcantara.

For his part, Burnes did not downplay how honored he’d be if Snitker handed him the ball to open the Midsummer Classic.

“I'd love to start the All-Star Game,” Burnes said. “I think that would be kind of a cool accomplishment to add on to the year. Being from California, I grew up an hour or so from Dodger Stadium and went to many games, so I think it’d be really cool.”