William Contreras is on an absolute tear, and the Milwaukee Brewers are reaping the rewards. For the second straight game, the catcher collected four hits—this time going 4-for-5 with three RBIs—to lead the Brewers to a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Just a day earlier, Contreras was 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in a 13-1 blowout of the Diamondbacks. He's now the seventh player in Brewers history to achieve four hits in back-to-back games, and the first since Casey McGehee back in 2010.
The night started with promise on the mound, too. Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, striking out eight batters and touching 102.3 mph on the radar gun. But after throwing a 98.9 mph fastball to James Wood, Misiorowski exited with a right hamstring cramp. Aaron Ashby came on in relief and struck out Wood, then got Luis García Jr. to ground out, preserving the no-hit bid for the moment.
Washington finally broke through in the seventh inning when Daylen Lile ripped a one-out double—snapping a streak of 15 straight batters retired by Milwaukee pitchers. Left fielder Blake Perkins made a diving attempt but couldn't come up with the catch. Still, the Brewers' bullpen held strong, and the Nationals managed just that one hit all night.
On the other side, Nationals starter Jake Irvin allowed four runs (three earned) over five innings. He had entered the game with 13 strikeouts and zero walks over his last two starts, but the Brewers' lineup proved too much. Reliever Cionel Pérez tossed two scoreless innings and has now gone eight of his last 10 outings without allowing an earned run.
The Brewers broke the game open in the eighth inning, loading the bases with no outs. Contreras stepped up and singled home two runs, extending the lead to 5-1. He also gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead in the third with an RBI single. Contreras is now batting .310 (36-for-116) with 13 walks and 23 RBIs on the season.
The series continues Saturday, with the Nationals sending left-hander Foster Griffin (3-0, 2.67 ERA) to the mound against Milwaukee righty Kyle Harrison (2-1, 2.28). For Brewers fans, the biggest question might be whether Contreras can make it three straight games with four hits—a feat that would put him in even more exclusive company.