Article: Brewers 0, Cardinals 3: Series Ends With A Whimper

[Jason Wang]

In the final game of their pivotal series in St. Louis, the Brewers got shut out for the fifth time in 2023. They struggled, once again, both to hit with runners in scoring position and to handle left-handed pitching in general.

Image courtesy of © Paul Halfacre-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 89 pitches, 58 strikes (65.2%)
Home Runs: None 
Top 3 WPA: Owen Miller (.132), Jesse Winker (.076), Tyrone Taylor (.052) 
Bottom 3 WPA: William Contreras (-.177), Rowdy Tellez (-.142), Brice Turang (-.116) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Burnes Is Getting There
Corbin Burnes made a strong start Wednesday, giving up just one earned run in the first five innings of work. After an RBI single by Nolan Arenado in the first inning (one that didn't leave the infield and could almost have been an inning-ending double play), Burnes cruised through the second and third frames. The fourth inning saw him get out of a bases-loaded jam by recording three consecutive outs, hyping him up like a kid on Christmas.

A bit of deadly hesitation by Rowdy Tellez in the sixth led to a two-run home run by Paul DeJong and brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Cardinals, but Burnes earned himself a quality start by finishing that inning. 

In his three outings in May, he’s maintained a 2.50 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a K/9 rate of 9.5, numbers that paint an optimistic picture for the remainder of the season.

Miller & Taylor Go Off, Other Guys Not So Much
Owen Miller and Tyrone Taylor combined for five of the team’s seven total hits. Miller went 3-for-4 with a walk, bringing his batting average to .350 over 76 at-bats. Taylor managed 2-for-3 with a walk, to lift his anemic batting average to .196, almost over the Mendoza line.

That’s pretty much all there is to say about the hitting for this game. The Brewers absolutely could not get things going until the ninth inning, when Jesse Winker and Miller both got on base, allowing William Contreras to step to the plate as the tying run. His strikeout and Willy Adames's lineout wasted the opportunity, though, and the game was lost. 

Trevor Megill Makes Brewers Debut
After being designated for assignment by the Minnesota Twins at the end of April, Megill was picked up to bolster Milwaukee’s injury-ridden bullpen. Wednesday, he pitched one inning and was lights-out, giving up no base runners and notching two strikeouts. In 2022, Megill recorded a 4.80 ERA over 45 innings pitched with the Twins, but recorded a not-too-shabby K/9 of 9.8. He’s struggled with control, holding a strikeout-to-walk ratio of just 2.88, but let’s hope that’s a teachable skill. 

What’s Next? 
After a day of rest, the Brewers will fly to Tampa Bay to start a series against the red-hot Rays. Adrian Houser will take the mound against a starter to be named later. The Rays currently have a record of 32-12 and lead the major leagues in pretty much every offensive category, such as hits, home runs, RBI, and OPS. After the rough stretch of the past month, the team OPS of Milwaukee is 20th, coming in at .704 as opposed to the Rays’ team OPS of .859. 

Maybe there’s a silver lining somewhere?

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Payamps	19	0	0	34	0	53
Milner	27	0	0	22	0	49
Strzelecki	14	0	0	30	0	44
Williams	10	0	0	27	0	37
Varland	0	0	33	0	0	33
B Wilson	0	0	33	0	0	33
Peguero	0	0	0	23	0	23
Megill	0	0	0	0	12	12
Cousins	0	0	0	0	12	12

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