Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress attempts to clarify 'lucky' comments about Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Milwaukee Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress caused a minor stir with his take on how the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied against him in their 4-3 victory in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday at Miller Park.
Discussing two key moments – a bases-loaded walk issued to No. 8 hitter Austin Barnes that cut the Brewers' lead to 3-2 in the seventh and the two-run home run by Justin Turner that proved to be the game-winner in the eighth – the right-hander twice utilized the word "luck."
When asked why he threw Barnes a curveball in a 3-2 count, Jeffress said: "I don't know. I decided it was just what he needed to see. I don’t know. He just got lucky."
When asked about the 2-0 splitter he threw to Turner, Jeffress said: "He just got lucky. I knew what I wanted to throw him. I just left the ball up and he got his pitch."
Jeffress replaced Corbin Burnes with two on and nobody out in the seventh, and he was greeted by a bloop single by Joc Pederson that could have been quantified as "lucky."
Turner's homer in the eighth was preceded by an infield single off the bat of Chris Taylor, whose hit definitely could have been termed "lucky."
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Jeffress was asked later if he was referring to Taylor's hit rather than Turner's homer with his "lucky" comment.
"Dude, honestly, you saw the hits. I don't gotta tell nobody, man," he said. "Honestly, if I say it's lucky, that means it's lucky. But everybody saw the hit. That's a lucky hit, bro. It is. It just is."
Predictably, Jeffress' comments did not go over well with some, and on Sunday morning he tweeted out what appeared to be an attempt at a clarification.
"To set things straight. One lost doesn’t define my ability. And a homerun is never lucky. I was referring to the cheap hits before. Everyone are professionals here. Except the ones who criticize. Thanks have a blessed day"
Jeffress is well-known for his fiery temperament on the mound, and it's one reason why he turned in a career season at 31 years of age. He went 8-1 with a 1.29 earned run average and 15 saves in 73 appearances, earning his first All-Star appearance in the process.
But it's been a different story for Jeffress in the postseason. Four of his five outings to this point have been shaky, and he enters Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Monday at 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and having allowed a team-high 11 hits.