Brewers pick up Hader after disastrous 5-walk 9th inning

This time, Josh Hader's teammates had to pick him up.

The Milwaukee Brewers relief ace had an uncharacteristically wild night that nearly cost his team a victory. After coming in to try for the save in the ninth inning, Hader proceeded to walk five of the six Pittsburgh Pirates batters he faced. By the time manager Craig Counsell mercifully pulled him in favor of Devin Williams, Hader had surrendered both the tying and go-ahead runs in just one-third of an inning.

Only nine of Hader's 32 pitches went for strikes, and his final nine pitches were balls. He also threw a passed ball.

These were the first earned runs that Hader has allowed in 2020, raising his ERA to 1.86. The five walks also represented a career-worst and doubled his season total. It was just the second time in his career that he's issued more than two walks in one appearance, according to Stathead.

Incredibly, Hader didn't allow a hit during the disastrous outing, extending his no-hit streak to 9 2/3 innings.

Fortunately for Hader, his teammates came through to render the horrible outing moot. Eric Sogard launched a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Brewers a 7-6 win.

While Hader's command during Saturday's appearance certainly raised eyebrows, it was hardly enough for Counsell to lose faith in the All-Star closer.

"There was a decision point there, but I'm never going to regret leaving Josh in the game," Counsell said, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic.