MILWAUKEE (AP) — It was just over a week ago when the Milwaukee Brewers always seemed to struggle with the bases loaded.
That may be a surprise to the NL Central leaders’ recent opponents.
The Brewers have hit five grand slams over their last eight games, the most recent on Sunday by Brice Turang, who capped a seven-run, fourth-inning outburst in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
“We made a huge adjustment with the bases loaded,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy quipped after the game. “It’s a secret plan — how to hit home runs with the base loaded. It’s been working. We bought it. It was a recipe online, and we got it.”
The only previous team in major league history to hit five grand slams in an eight-game stretch was the 2020 San Diego Padres, an achievement that earned them the “Slam Diego Padres” nickname.
Milwaukee has an MLB-leading six grand slams this season. The San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles entered Sunday with five each.
Turang’s slam gave the Brewers five homers in their past seven plate appearances with the bases loaded. Turang came up with three men on again in the eighth and struck out.
It’s a stunning turnaround for a team that hit just .164 with one homer in its first 64 plate appearances with the bases loaded.
After joking initially about Milwaukee’s reversal of fortune, Murphy noted that the Brewers are doing a better job of waiting for the right pitches in those situations.
“Most homers are thrown,” Murphy said. “I think if you look at all those grand slams that we’ve hit, I think you see where the pitches are, and you’ve got to be ready when you get that opportunity. Sometimes you don’t get the opportunity because you swing at a different pitch to get yourself out. If you get that pitch, you’ve got an opportunity to do something special.”
