River Falls native Alex Call hit his first major-league home run late Friday, and it benefited the Milwaukee Brewers in the latest chapter of the Josh Hader saga.
Call’s two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch — after fouling off a bunt to fall behind — helped the Washington Nationals prevail over San Diego, 6-3, and keep the Brewers within one game of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.
Hader did not record an out during a tumultuous ninth inning to absorb the loss, drawing boos from the Padres crowd for a second straight night. Washington, which came into the game with a 40-80 record, the worst mark in the NL, also defeated the Padres one night earlier when Hader yielded a go-ahead walk and allowed two inherited runners to score.
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He had a clean inning to work with Friday, entering the ninth of a 3-3 game. But he first walked Victor Robles, then fielded a short grounder and threw it away down the first base line, allowing Robles to score a go-ahead run.
That brought up Call, who made his major-league debut with the Cleveland Guardians earlier this year and was then claimed off waivers by Washington just two weeks ago.
Call was a two-time all-state baseball player at River Falls and played high school baseball with JP Feyereisen, the former Brewers pitcher traded to Tampa Bay as part of the exchange for Willy Adames last year. Call played college baseball at Ball State and was a third-round draft pick by the White Sox in 2016.
The Brewers fell four games behind St. Louis in the NL Central on Friday, and a wild-card berth is becoming increasingly the most attainable path to the playoffs. They enter Saturday two games behind Philadelphia and one behind the Padres.
Hader did not allow a run for the first two months of the season and recorded 18 saves in the process. Since the start of July with the Brewers and Padres, he has allowed 19 earned runs in 12⅔ innings (13.50 ERA).
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.