Drew Hutchison allowed just one-hit in five-innings, and four relievers did the rest, blanking the potent Chicago Dogs lineup as the Milwaukee Milkmen prevailed, 4-0. Adam Walker II hit his league leading 17th homer of the year as part of a three-hit night. The victory extended the Milkmen lead in the American Association to 2.0 games.

Hutchison breezed through the top of the first inning, retiring the side in order. In the bottom half of the inning, Walker staked his starter to a 1-0 lead. Dogs’ right-hander Jake Dahlberg retired the first two batters, but Walker drilled a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left-center to give Milwaukee the lead.

In the top of the second, Logan Moore singled with one down. That would become the only hit the Dogs would record.

In the bottom of the frame, the Milkmen extended their lead. Dylan Tice led off with a triple, but it looked like he would remain there when Dahlberg struck out Jose Sermo and then got Mason Davis to ground out. However, Zach Nehrir delivered a clutch two-out hit, singling into right field to drive home Tice.

Hutchison (1-1) gave up walks in the third and fourth innings, but neither runner advanced past first. Chicago had no answers as they flailed at the right-hander’s offerings. He struck out two in each of the first three innings and in the fifth. Hutchison finished with nine strikeouts. The right-hander left after five, allowing one hit and two walks.

In the sixth, Karch Kowalczyk came on and retired the side. In the seventh, the Dogs had their opportunity to take the lead when Myles Smith came on and walked the bases loaded. However, he got Edwin Arroyo to fly out to end the threat. A.J. Schugel and Peyton Gray each tossed a perfect frame to finish off the shutout. For Gray, it extended his scoreless inning streak to 25.

Milwaukee added two more runs to close out the scoring. In the fourth, Back-to-back singles by Davis and Nehrir put runners at the corners with one down. Logan Trowbridge then lined a single into left, easily scoring Davis to extend the lead to three. In the eighth, Walker led off with a single and moved to second on a base hit by Tice. Sermo followed with a double, bringing home Walker to give the Milkmen a 4-0 lead.

Walker finished 3-4 with two runs and an RBI. Tice and Nehrir each had two hits.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier