Brewers' defense finally makes its mark

MILWAUKEE — Rarely has Brewers manager Ron Roenicke lamented his defense this season, as the unit ranks fifth-best in fielding percentage in the National League.

But rarely has the defense made its case for being the most important aspect of a Brewers' victory until Monday night's 4-1 win over the Braves, who are currently in place for one of the NL's all-important wildcard spots.

First, it was defense from behind the plate that made a significant difference, as Brewers catcher Martin Maldonado threw out two baserunners in the first two innings -- catching Jason Heyward stealing second base and throwing out Freddie Freeman at first.

Then, in the fourth inning, it was a Nori Aoki throw from right field that beat Martin Prado at third base, undoubtedly one of Aoki's best assists of the season. And finally, it was another assist in the eighth inning, this one from Carlos Gomez, as a pop fly fell short of his spot in center field. Calmly yet quickly, Gomez threw out Prado again, as he tried to make it to third base, keeping the Brewers lead at 4-1.

While the Brewers defense has been solid all season long, the assists on defense haven't been in great supply, despite the relatively low amount of errors in the field. In fact, heading into Monday's game, Milwaukee had the second-lowest total of assists in the entire National League. But with clutch throws from the outfield making a huge difference in Monday's result, you wouldn't have known it by watching the Brewers defense steal the show against the Braves.

It was, according to Roenicke, one of the best defensive performances he had seen from his team all season.

"I haven't seen us pick up that many outs defensively like we did today," Roenicke said. "I don't think we've done that all year. You don't get to see that very often. That was outstanding."

Added Maldonado: "That could be the key for us, playing great defense . . . Defense can make the difference against a team like that.

In the end, it would actually be defense that decided the Brewers' win, but not Milwaukee's own defense. Rather, it was the Braves' mistakes on defense in the seventh inning, as Jonny Venters throw to third from the mound missed Chipper Jones' glove at the base and scored the tying run, making it 1-1. From there, the Brewers would score three more runs and cruise to a win, tallying just four hits, compared to the Braves' 10 and still earning the win.

"A lot of good things happening without a lot of hits," Roenicke said.


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