NEW YORK (AP) — William Contreras hit a go-ahead single in a three-run seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers overcame rookie Jasson Domínguez’s fourth homer to drop the New York Yankees back below .500 with an 8-2 victory on Friday night.
Milwaukee opened a three-game NL Central lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs.
Playing a week after his major league debut, Domínguez put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with a two-run homer in the third off Colin Rea. The 20-year-old became the youngest player since at least 1901 to homer four times in his first seven games.
Willy Adames hit a tying, two-run homer in the fourth off Luis Severino, who left an inning later with an injured left side.
Andruw Monasterio doubled against Jhony Brito (6-7) leading off the eighth, Contreras singled off Jonathan Loáisiga for a 3-2 lead and Carlos Santana added an RBI single.
“Put the ball in play, that was my whole mentality that at-bat to try and put the ball in play and try to get the run to get ahead, that’s all I was trying to do,” Contreras said through a translator.
Contreras fouled off two straight sinkers before lining a 2-2 changeup past New York’s drawn-in infield. The catcher got his clutch hit two days striking out on a 97 mph full-count fastball that appeared a little outside against Pittsburgh closer David Bednar to end a 5-4 loss,
“I thought William’s at-bat against Loáisiga, that’s a tough at-bat against a right-hander,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “To hang on there on that at-bat and to put a pitch in play, to me was the at-bat of the game.”
Monasterio added a two-run double off Greg Weissert in a three-run eighth that included another Santana run-scoring single.
New York (70-71) lost its second straight following a five-game winning streak and trails Toronto, Texas and Boston for the AL’s final wild card. The Yankees went 1 for 12 with runners on base and were held to three hits or fewer for the 15th time this season, their most games with three hits or less since 1914.
Milwaukee had nine of its 16 hits in the seventh and eighth innings. Before the game, several Brewers players watched the Cubs’ 1-0 loss to Arizona on clubhouse televisions.
“We have good innings like that, hit after hit,” Contreras said through a translator.
After allowing a leadoff single to Brice Turang in the fifth, Severino dropped his glove in front of the mound, doubled over in pain and walked around the mound. The 29-year-old right-hander was holding his left side near his oblique.
“He’s in a lot of pain and still is,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Eligible for free agency after this season, Severino is 4-8 with an 6.65 ERA. He did not make his season debut until May 21 because of a strained latissimus dorsi muscle.
“I feel like somebody shot me, it’s just like a deep sharp pain,” an emotional Severino said while struggling to hold back tears.
Rea allowed two runs and three hits in 4 2/3 innings and did not another baserunner after Domínguez homered.
“I just made a bad pitch there, tried to go backdoor cutter and kind of the middle and he put a good swing on it,” Rea said. “At that point it’s on to the next one.”
Abner Uribe struck out Aaron Judge to end the fifth and got four outs for his first career win.
