Milwaukee Brewers at Detroit Tigers

With three of their best hitters on the injured list, the Brewers are surviving the best way they know how. When an opponent gives an inch, take a mile. That was the story of Tuesday’s 12-4 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park, where a lackadaisical play here and an error there helped the Brewers claim the series opener despite Milwaukee’s starter, Kyle Harrison, recording nine outs, and Milwaukee’s lineup, still missing the injured Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn and Christian Yelich, not collecting an extra-base hit until Gary Sánchez and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back triples leading off a game-breaking, seven-run eighth inning. Those jolts aside, the Brewers took command as they have so often while winning the last three NL Central titles -- by capitalizing every time the Tigers made a mistake. “Trust me, I’ve faced this team a couple of years ago, so I know what it’s like,” Harrison said of pitching against the Brewers. “It’s hard at-bats. Grind you out. The relentless will to get on base and drag the pitcher down with you. Just the fight, man. That’s awesome to see.” “When we’re clicking,” added left fielder Blake Perkins, “we’re a hard team to beat.” They were clicking on Tuesday in a very Brewers-type way. Of Milwaukee’s 16 hits, 13 were singles. Three were infield singles. And the Brewers made those hits count, going 10-for-16 with runners in scoring position. On the heels of a six-game losing streak, they are back to playing their brand of pesky baseball, winners of five of the last six games. “When you’re putting pressure on other teams because of our speed and balls in play, that happens,” manager Pat Murphy said. “You make it difficult on them. It affects people, like, ‘Why me?’ And you can sometimes take advantage.”