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MILWAUKEE -- Through the first two months of the season, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell insisted that it wouldn't be long until his team's starting pitching caught up to its offense, which was tormenting the National League. Now the Brewers' rotation is starting to fulfill their manager's predictions.
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A day after Chase Anderson flirted with a no-hitter, right-hander Jimmy Nelson kept the momentum going, striking out 10 batters over seven innings of work to lead the Brewers to a 9-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.
"Really the last three nights if you go back to Zach (Davies, who started Friday night), we've gotten quality starting pitching," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Certainly, Jimmy was excellent today."
Nelson (3-3) leaned heavily on his off-speed, keeping Arizona's lineup off balance with a sharp curveball and biting sinker, both of which he was able to establish early in the count.
"He was outstanding," catcher Manny Pina said. "He used his curveball a lot today. It was nasty. He was commanding the first pitch."
Of the seven hits Nelson allowed, only three made it past the infield.
"There was a lot of infield stuff, and some of them were on good pitches," Nelson said. "Those good hitters just kind of battled and put it in play and that's what happened. But I think we had a couple double plays and overall pretty good defense."
Domingo Santana drove the offense, belting his first career grand slam as Milwaukee tagged Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-5) for seven runs in four innings.
"I've been throwing a lot of pitches (in the first inning) and that's tough, definitely, that early in the game," Corbin said. "Yeah, we'll see. Maybe I'll go out there a little bit earlier and warm up and figure something out."
The Brewers put two on the board in the first but after Chris Iannetta made it a 2-1 game with an RBI double in the fourth, Milwaukee loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning and Santana smacked a 1-0 changeup to center for the team's first grand slam of the season.
"His quality of at-bat as he moves on with us is increasing," Counsell said. "That's a good sign. That's going to mean production."
Insurance runs in the fifth and sixth made it an 8-1 game when Oliver Drake took over for Nelson in the eighth but he failed to retire a batter as the Diamondbacks cut the deficit to three with a four-run inning.
"It was still 8 to 1 and our guys were saying, let's just get something started, let's not shut down," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "Those are great rallying moments. I think they all kind of rely on one another in those key situations and it really just shows the character of this team."
Milwaukee needed three pitchers to get through the frame but escaped when Jacob Barnes retired pinch hitter Paul Goldschmidt with two on.
"In that situation, where they kind of had the momentum going their way and they had scored a couple that inning, I think it was a big situation. I had to get probably their best hitter out," Barnes said. "You don't really know how his approach is going to be as a pinch hitter, so that was kind of the question mark going into it. In my previous outing I had faced him, so I kind of knew what I could get him out with."
Milwaukee added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning and Barnes worked a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.
NOTES: Brewers SS Orlando Arcia extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games with a fourth-inning single off LHP Patrick Corbin. Arcia finished with two hits Sunday and is 12-for-31 during his streak. ... Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt was out of the starting lineup for the first time since April 24 and just the second time all season but entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and has appeared in all 51 of Arizona's games this season. ... Brewers OF Keon Broxton moved into the leadoff spot Sunday, replacing struggling 2B Jonathan Villar. Broxton tripled, walked and scored twice while Villar, batting sixth, finished with two singles and two strikeouts. ... The Diamondbacks have won or tied their last four series. ... The victory kept the Brewers in first place atop the NL Central.
