Brewers’ Brice Turang is scapegoat after dodging would-be plunking

[ad_1] MILWAUKEE — What do you do when a ball comes screaming at you at 85 mph?

When a lifetime of taking part in the sport has taught you that ball will go away a slight bruise for those who’re fortunate, a welt that can ache for days for those who’re not. A ball that appears prefer it would possibly make direct contact along with your knee, not precisely essentially the most sturdy of physique elements and one which isn’t lined in laborious plastic like your elbow and your shins.

Do you stand there and take the blow, understanding that sacrificing your physique will power within the game-tying run? Or does the pure intuition for self-preservation win out, your physique deciding so that you can get out of the ball’s path?

Brice Turang not letting himself be hit by that pitch within the ninth inning was the topic of debate, if not outright criticism, as quickly as the sport led to a Milwaukee Brewers loss. However you stand in that batter’s field and see for those who do something totally different.

“It sucks. It's what it's,” Turang stated after the 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Recreation 1 of the NLCS on Monday night time.

Skilled MLB day by day picks: Distinctive MLB betting insights solely at USA TODAY “The pure response is to type of get out of the best way,” he stated. “I imply, there's nothing I may do. I am unable to return.”

<img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:623px" fetchpriority="high" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/14/USAT/86684069007-usatsi-27319826.jpg?width=660&height=623&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/14/USAT/86684069007-usatsi-27319826.jpg?width=1320&height=1246&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Brice Turang reacts after striking out to end Game 1 of the NLCS."/> In each recreation, in each sport, there are woulda, coulda, shouldas. For eight innings, the Brewers have been stymied by Blake Snell, unable to mount something that may have shaken the two-time Cy Younger winner off his recreation.

Milwaukee received the ball out of the infield simply 3 times in opposition to Snell, and never after the third inning. They managed one hit and struck out 10 occasions.

“He was positively on his recreation tonight. Executed and actually did not give us too many good pitches to hit,” Sal Frelick stated. “We face a ton of actually good pitchers, proper? And after we see guys like that, you variety have gotten to choke up on the bat, discover a approach to get on base. We did not do this tonight.”

Solely after Snell was out of the sport may Milwaukee get something going offensively.

The Brewers roughed up Dodgers ace reliever Roki Sasaki, with Isaac Collins drawing a one-out stroll, pinch-hitter Jake Bauers following with a double and Jackson Chourio getting Milwaukee on the board with a sac fly.

Sasaki was lifted after he walked Christian Yelich, and the Brewers loaded the bases with William Contreras’ stroll in opposition to Blake Treinen.

“We have been capable of flip the sport a little bit bit there,” Contreras stated.

<img class="gnt_em_cp_cw_i" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/13/USAT/86667316007-usatsi-27309362.jpg?crop=3768,2826,x1130,y0&width=258&height=193&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/13/USAT/86667316007-usatsi-27309362.jpg?crop=3768,https://www.usatoday.com/2826,https://www.usatoday.com/x1130,https://www.usatoday.com/y0&width=516&height=386&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt=""/> That introduced up Turang, who's an enormous purpose the Brewers completed the common season with the very best file in baseball. He hit .321 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs within the final 52 video games and was among the many NL's greatest in batting common and hits. In Milwaukee’s regular-season sweep of the Dodgers, Turang went 8-for-19 with two RBIs in six video games .

However Turang has cooled off within the postseason.

Sure, he homered in opposition to the Chicago Cubs within the decisive Recreation 5 of the NLCS. However he was 2-for-19 in his different at-bats throughout the collection. In his first three at-bats Monday, he flied out to left area, struck out and grounded out to first.

Turang fouled off the primary pitch he noticed from Treinen. Then got here a ball and a known as strike. Treinen threw one other sweeper on the fourth pitch, however this one received a little bit away from him and it darted inside.

Had Turang not flinched, the ball would have hit him proper above the knee. Hit-by-pitch, computerized base, game-tying run pressured in. However Turang did flinch, creating simply sufficient area for the ball to get by him with out making contact.

“It’s a pure response,” Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy stated. “When the ball is coming towards you, your pure factor, it’s a breaking ball, your pure factor is to do this.

“I do know he was pondering the identical factor after the ball handed,” Murphy stated. “It occurs. He’ll be taught from that scenario. Nevertheless it’s laborious. Even for those who attempt to maneuver your self, it’s laborious to get hit by the pitch as a result of it’s so reactionary.”

<img class="gnt_em_gl_i" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/14/USAT/86682768007-usatsi-27318928.jpg?crop=7470,4205,x11,y745&width=660&height=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/10/14/USAT/86682768007-usatsi-27318928.jpg?crop=7470,https://www.usatoday.com/4205,https://www.usatoday.com/x11,https://www.usatoday.com/y745&width=1320&height=744&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="" width="660" height="372"/> Turang was in search of the sweeper once more on the following pitch. However Treinen threw a four-seam fastball, as a substitute, and Turang took the bait, swinging and lacking.

Recreation over.

Turang is just not the rationale the Brewers misplaced this recreation. Nobody participant or play ever is. Even when he’d let himself get hit, it could solely have tied the sport. Perhaps he will get plunked and Milwaukee nonetheless loses.

Turang is a handy scapegoat, nevertheless, a straightforward outlet for frustration with a screwed-up monetary system that already tilts the scales within the Dodgers' favor.