Jackson, lineman Akiem Hicks and cornerback Kyle Fuller.Last month Miller suggested the Bears’ defense could lead Chicago to the Super Bowl title much as Denver’s defense led the way three years ago even in a

The strength of a contending club often isn’t determined by who plays every day http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-phil-haynes-jersey , but who plays only every few days. Or every few weeks. Or even every few months.

The Milwaukee Brewers were concerned when they began their Friday night game in Cincinnati with two injured starting outfielders, Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, then lost the other starter, Ryan Braun, to lower back tightness in the seventh inning.

But manager Craig Counsell plugged in exactly the right pieces, and a spare outfield group that probably should be called “The Replacements” keyed an 8-2 victory over the Reds.

How’s this for a couple of fills-in, who did nothing except fill up the box score: Keon Broxton was 3-for-4 with two homers, four RBIs, a run stolen by some alert baserunning and an exceptional sliding catch.

And Hernan Perez, who came in after Braun was hurt, contributed a two-run double to start a five-run ninth inning.

“They (the Brewers outfield) have been the workhorse of this team, so I’ve got to come in and fill their spot while they’re down. It was a good night,” said Broxton, who played in only his third game this season.

Because their bench came through yet again — on Thursday night, part-time starter Eric Thames hit his third consecutive game-winning homer against the Reds — the Brewers can assure them of winning the four-game series by taking Saturday’s game at Great American Ball Park.

“It speaks to our depth again … we’ve had a couple of games like that where (bench players) make meaningful contributions,” Counsell said. “With Yelich down Ugo Amadi Jersey , we’re counting on Keon, so it’s got to be a good feeling for him.”

The last-place Reds had won nine of 10 coming in to the series, but still can’t seem to solve the Brewers, who have won seven of eight games against Cincinnati. Milwaukee owns the National League’s best record at 48-33.

“These guys have been battling all year and they’re in a good spot right now, so I’m trying to do my best to keep them right there,” Broxton said.

Milwaukee will send out right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (6-3), who has lost his last two decisions, on Saturday to face Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle (6-6), who has won his last three decisions during a span of six starts.

“We’ve got to play better. … Their pitching kind of stifled us the last two nights,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “We’ve got to turn it back on … crank it up again with our bats.”

Yelich sat out with a lower back issue. He’s listed as day to day — and so Broxton made his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday.

Broxton had an RBI single in the second against Sal Romano (4-8), then hit the first of his two homers to make the score 2-0 in the fourth. Then, with Milwaukee up 2-1 in the eighth after reliever Michael Lorenzen’s homer for the Reds, Broxton appeared to be caught off third by Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart.

But he eluded a tag by falling down, then scored as Orlando Arcia distracted the Reds by allowing himself to be tagged off second.

Broxton finished quite an evening’s work with a two-run homer in the ninth and a stretched-out catch of Scooter Gennett’s drive into the right-center field gap with two runners on base.

“He’s been up and down (from the minors) a little bit, but he’s very talented,” Riggleman said of Broxton Dwayne Haskins Jersey , who hit only .220 while spending most of last season with Milwaukee. “He can do a lot of things — he can hit with power, he can run and he plays great defense.”

The Reds didn’t do much against Brewers starter Chase Anderson, who limited them to one other hit besides Lorenzen’s homer in six innings, and relievers Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress and Dan Jennings.

Now, the Brewers would like to get Chacin straightened out. His ERA jumped from 3.18 to 3.82 as he gave up eight runs, nine hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings during an 8-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Chacin is 2-3 in nine career games against the Reds. He didn’t get the decision during a 6-5 Brewers win on April 30.

In Mahle’s only previous start against the Brewers, Thames beat him with a two-run homer in a 2-0 Milwaukee win on April 18.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — John Elway met with Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio about the Denver Broncos‘ head coaching vacancy Monday, a day after Chicago’s 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild-card playoffs.At 60, Fangio is the oldest of the five candidates on Elway’s short list as he searches for his fourth head coach in six years. Fangio was also expected to interview for Miami’s head coaching vacancy, but the Dolphins didn’t schedule an interview with him.Elway, who fired Vance Joseph a week ago, also interviewed former Colts coach Chuck Pagano and Steelers O-line coach Mike Munchak , who are both 58, Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores David Long Jersey , 37, and Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor , 35.Unlike Munchak and Pagano, Fangio has no NFL head coaching experience, although he has been an assistant for 32 seasons in the NFL and 34 overall, beginning with the Philadelphia Stars of the old USFL in 1984.He has 19 years of coordinating experience for the Panthers, Colts, Texans, 49ers and Bears. He’s built dominant defenses in different eras, successfully adapting to changes in personnel, philosophies and style. The 2018 season was his best as Chicago used a mix of youth and experience to lead the league in total defense and allow an NFL-low 17.7 points per game.Elway said last week he values experience but also recognizes he needs to modernize the Broncos’ offensive and defensive schemes to keep up with the run-pass option craze that has swept through the NFL and rendered traditional systems antiquated.Elway also said personnel assistant and former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak will move back into an offensive assistant coaching role in 2019, although he didn’t specify if that would necessarily be as Denver’s offensive coordinator.Kubiak stepped aside over health concerns two years ago after going 24-11 in two seasons, including 15-4 in 2015 when the Broncos won the Super Bowl in Peyton Manning’s final game of his career.Since then, the Broncos have won just 11 of 32 games, in large part because of a quarterback carousel that has included four starters in Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/bobby-evans-jersey , Paxton Lynch and Case Keenum, plus flameouts Mark Sanchez and Chad Kelly.If cornerback Bradley Roby and linebacker Shane Ray leave via free agency this spring, as expected, Elway’s only remaining No. 1 draft picks on the roster will be pass rushers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, the No. 5 overall pick a year ago, and left tackle Garett Bolles, who has been penalized an NFL-high 21 times for holding in his two NFL seasons.Elway said in addition to looking for yet another coach, he’s evaluating the mistakes he’s made in building his roster.The Broncos are coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72, a hard fall for a franchise that was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just three years ago thanks to Miller’s MVP performance in Super Bowl 50.Fangio is available sooner than expected following the Bears’ bow-out Sunday night when Eagles defensive lineman Treyvon Hester got his fingertips on kicker Cody Parkey’s last-second double-doink field-goal attempt in the final seconds.Fangio guided a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL and led the Bears into the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Four Chicago defenders were selected to the Pro Bowl: pass rusher Khalil Mack, safety Eddie Jackson, lineman Akiem Hicks and cornerback Kyle Fuller.Last month Miller suggested the Bears’ defense could lead Chicago to the Super Bowl title much as Denver’s defense led the way three years ago even in an age of potent offenses capitalizing on ever friendlier rules to run up scores.“The Bears have been doing it right. They get takeaways, they play tight coverage and they got a great run defense,” Miller said. “I feel like the Bears definitely got a defense that can go all the way.”Instead, it could be their defensive coordinator joining Miller in Denver.