Brewers 1B Rowdy Tellez pitches final outs for Brewers postseason clinch game

The pitcher on the mound recording the final outs that sent the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs was … first baseman Rowdy Tellez.

The burly left hander was summoned to work the ninth inning and logged his first career strikeout in a scoreless frame, one that sealed a 16-1 victory over the Miami Marlins and ensured the Brewers would have a playoff spot in 2023.

"Cy Young candidate now," joked Tellez, who became the first position player in MLB history to close out a clinching game for the winning team. "When you go out in high-leverage situations you shut it down and lock it in.

"(Bench coach Pat Murphy) said if I walked somebody I owed him 50 bucks. So I was like, 'Vic (Caratini), sit on the corners and watch (Greg) Maddux work.'"

The Brewers scored 12 runs in the second inning to put the game away early. The Marlins used catcher Jacob Stallings on the hill in both the eighth and the ninth, and he finished with two scoreless innings, permitting just two hits.

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Then came Tellez in his first career inning of work on the mound. He allowed a leadoff single to Bryan De La Cruz but then struck out Jesús Sánchez on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

That was quite enough of marathon at-bats. Both Garrett Hampson and Nick Fortes swung at first pitches, flying out to bring the game to an end.

Tellez said he was warming up around the seventh inning with the expectation that he would sub in for Carlos Santana at first base, but manager Craig Counsell called him over and asked him if he could pitch.

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The answer, of course, was a firm yes. Now it was just a matter of finding a glove he could use on the mound.

"I took my sweatshirt off, my arm sleeve off, ran upstairs (to the clubhouse) and tried to find every lefty I could in here, found Wade (Miley). 'He doesn't use this glove.'"

He admitted he was jacked up. But nervous?

"When you're a leader, it's what you do, the highest level of the game," he deadpanned.

It was a perfect moment of levity toward the end of what's been a rough year for Tellez, who has a .664 OPS in 100 games, a season sidetracked by injuries. The club acquired Santana at the trade deadline and has used him at first base almost exclusively.

Acquired midway through the 2021 season from Toronto, Tellez was one of the few bright spots in the 2021 postseason on offense, homering twice in a division series loss to the Braves.

The Brewers are now headed back to the playoffs for the first time since (and the fifth time in six years), needing one more win (or Cubs loss) to ensure the Central title and and likely No. 3 seed in the upcoming October showcase.