Bedford's Wiemer delivers walk-off hit, great catch for Brewers

MILWAUKEE – Bedford graduate Joey Wiemer delivered a two-out, walk-off hit in the 10th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 win over Baltimore Tuesday night.

Wiemer, who came into the game hitting just .160 against breaking balls, hit a curveball for the winner on a 1-2 count.

Baltimore reliever Austin Voth gave him a steady diet of curveballs.

He missed on the first, got a swinging strike on the second and a foul ball on the third to get ahead in the count, 1-2.

Voth's fourth offering was yet another curveball and in almost the exact spot as the one Wiemer fouled off. And this time Wiemer was right on time, pulling it into left field for his second walk-off of the season and his first walk-off hit.

"With two strikes, not guessing. Just trying to battle there," Wiemer said. "Saw the pitch and just tried to do my job."

Wiemer has had his fair share of struggles at the plate. He finished Tuesday with a .213 average, although his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark at any time makes him an especially dangerous hitter.

But he's also on a seven-game hitting streak during which he's been hitting the ball harder with more consistency.

"Joey's a competitor," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It's a really clean way he competes. He doesn't get distracted by much."

While Wiemer's hit won the game, it was his catch on an Aaron Hicks' drive to right-center in the third that was probably more impressive.

With two runners on, Hicks – who'd homered his previous at-bat – sent a Peralta fastball 103.6 mph to the gap only to see Wiemer race over and glove it with a lunging grab as he hit the warning track to keep it a 2-2 game.

"The play he made in the third inning was incredible," Counsell said. "One of the best catches I've seen. That was a double off the bat. I don't think any of us thought anybody had a chance to catch that."

Said Wiemer when asked where he ranked the catch personally: "That one was up there. That wall is always looming and there's some lights in the area. Just trying to do what I can out there."

While the offensive analytics haven't been kind to Wiemer, his defensive numbers bear out how valuable he's been as he ranks in the 94th percentile in the majors in outs above average, in the 82nd percentile in outfielder jump and in the 78th percentile in arm strength (which actually seems much lower than the reality).

"That's something that I pride myself on, is knowing that the pitchers know I've got their back," he said. "I'll run through the wall for them. You don't always get a ton of opportunities to make a nice play, so it's just taking advantage of those when you get them."

Milwaukee pitcher Freddy Peralta is certainly appreciative.

"Crazy," is how he described Wiemer's running grab. "He's been doing a great job. He saved the game."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bedford's Wiemer delivers walk-off hit, great catch for Brewers