The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Detroit Tigers in Game 1, but they made their Game 2 victory in the Motor City look even easier than in the first clash. The Brewers rode a six-run third inning to propel themselves to a 8-1 win over the Tigers. 

It all started with starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson, who was dominant for the Brewers. He went 8.0 inning, giving up just one earned run on three hits and four walks. Nelson struck out five on 108 pitches thrown. He has now upped his resume to 2-4 with a 3.73 ERA. While there is still work to do, this is a great sign for Nelson and the Brew Crew. 

"It was good. Especially the last half of the game. Early, I really struggled with the command of my four seam fastball and curve. I started throwing my two-seam fastball," Nelson said. "As the game went on, I started to settle in and command my pitches and that made the difference."

Detroit started off scoring the first run of the game, a first inning J.D. Martinez single to center, but they were shut down after the run. 

The Tigers gave Anibal Sanchez the ball to start, but he did not last long. The righty went just 3.2 innings and gave up seven earned runs on seven hits and two walks. Three of those hits went over the fence for home runs. Sanchez, who took the loss, is now 3-5 with a 5.60 ERA. 

"I think when he got out of the stretch the ball started creeping up in the zone. He just had trouble getting it down and they took advantage of it," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said.

Sanchez has allowed nine home runs through 54.2 innings pitched this season. In 2014, he allowed just four home runs over 126 innings. 

"It's been clearly something that is uncharacteristic for Sanchie. Long ball wasn't an issue last year, but this year it's been a little bit of a different story now," Ausmus said. "We've also seen some outstanding starts by Sanchie, but when he doesn't have his command down in the zone, his off-speed pitches especially, that's when they hit him. 

Ryan Braun, Adam Lind and Aramis Ramirez all launched homers in the third inning off Sanchez. Carlos Gomez reached on a bunt single to score Hector Gomez earlier in the inning. Braun's long shot was a three-run home run and the others were solo-shots. 

"I liked that. Yeah, that's fun to see," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Just a classic (Braun) swing, the ball just backspinning to the opposite field and good swings by (Lind) and (Ramirez)."

Braun added to his impressive day with a double to deep center in the ninth inning, scoring Gerardo Para

Meanwhile, in the fifth inning, Ausmus jumped in the way of Ian Kinsler so he could argue balls and strikes. As a result, he was ejected from the game, but he may have saved Kinsler form being tossed too. 

During this series, Gomez is batting .500 (5-for-10) with a home run, four RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. He has proven that he can deliver and should continue to dominate in the leadoff spot. 

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About the author
Evan Petzold
Evan Petzold is a Detroit-based journalist with expertise in covering the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings. A member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) and Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DBSA), he brings a unique skill set in reporting and broadcasting to the table.