BrewersRaptor Recap: A Wild Ride To Wrap Up May

[John Egan]

After a tough road trip, the Milwaukee Brewers might have had their best weekday series of the season so far. The return of Craig Counsell. Extra-inning games. So many dingers. So many boos. Let’s recap the four-game series between the Brewers and Chicago Cubs.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not doing a long intro to this article. Deal with it. Let’s get into this amazing series against the division rivals, who are now under .500. The Brewers are now 33-23, and 10 games over .500. They also have a five-game lead in the division over the now-second place St. Louis Cardinals, as the other Chicago team comes to American Family Field this weekend. Let's break down how it all happened.

Memorial Day and Game One
It was discussed at length all offseason: What will happen when Craig Counsell returns to American Family Field? Will there be booing? Cheering? Something in between? Well, the Milwaukee Brewers organization set themselves up perfectly.

Before the game started, a Craig Counsell tribute video started to play on the brand-new scoreboard in center field. And then it started. A stadium full of Brewers (and Cubs) fans erupted with boos. Oh boy, did they give it to him. And the fact that Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder were initially surprised is so funny. Fans were talking about booing him since October.

I have to give it up for Counsell, though. His belly laugh when it happened was perfect. He could have done his Craig blank stare or been annoyed. He got it. It shows what baseball is all about. Yes, it’s not a great feeling to get booed by 40,000+ people. But at the end of the day, it’s a game, and both teams are basically friends off the field. It’s a rivalry to the fans, more than to the actual players and coaches. What a great moment, though. The fans expressed how they felt all series, which will enhance this rivalry for the next four to five years.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Brewers won the game. Milwaukee continued to struggle against Cubs starters over the first two games. The Cubs bullpen, on the other hand, is nothing special at all. I can’t imagine being Counsell and going from a perennially top-five bullpen to one that so massively isn’t. Almost a decade of Corey Knebel, Josh Hader and Devin Williams, and now a rotating wheel of underachievement. That's a shame.

A solid start by Justin Steele was matched by a solid start by Robert Gasser. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, it all broke open. After a fielder's choice run from William Contreras, Willy Adames smashed a 427-foot home run to center to give the team a 4-0 lead. Jackson Chourio brought in another run to make it 5-0. The baby bears got a run in the ninth, but it was over. It was the perfect way to end the game. I was so full from that victory, I didn't leave any room for dinner. I thought to myself, "Even if we lose the rest of the series, I'll be happy."

Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Game Two and Extra Innings
I was a bit dramatic on Twitter after this loss:

In some ways, I still feel that way. It was a very big low after a huge high. At that time, most thought the Brewers would be without Trevor Megill for a while, Luckily, the line drive Mike Tauchman smashed back through the box missed his elbow, and he won't need an IL stint (for now). It just seemed like the same old Brewers. Wasting an amazing start from your ace and having everything go wrong for a painful loss. 

In theory, it was a great game. Extra innings with a rival. It's just that Megill getting rocked in the arm by a pitch led to him not being able to field the ball, and that brought in a run. Hoby Milner had to come in cold, and it definitely showed. The Cubs capitalized. The only good part was that Counsell had to use two bullpen pitchers in the 10th inning, which helped the Brewers later in the series.

It was a tough 6-3 loss, but it truly exposed the Brewers' currently weak bench. It shouldn't be ao for long, though. Rhys Hoskins is set to return when the team starts their series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Jun. 3. There was no way he was missing that.

Garrett Mitchell should be back soon, too. Tyler Black could be a series or two away from another call-up. And there it is, your updated bench. It's just that right now, players like Oliver Dunn, Owen Miller and Andruw Monasterio aren't cutting it. I have nothing against them, but upgrades should be made. Monasterio is a victim of a deeper, more talented bench this year, and has had limited playing time, which is definitely a factor. But as we head into June, the Crew needs bats that lead to production off the bench, Owen Miller should not be coming up to the plate with no outs and two men on base and hitting into a double play. My guess is that Murphy and the front office are hoping to get through the White Sox weekend with another series win before stocking up for Philly.

Shota Imanaga Is Mortal In Game Three
Leading up to the game, all anyone would talk about was how well Shota Imanaga was pitching for the Cubs. That's exactly when I knew the Brewers were going to rock him. A rookie like Ben Brown that the Crew should be all over? He throws seven innings of no-hit baseball with 10 strikeouts and two walks. Imanaga, with a 5-0 record and ERA south of 1.00? They score seven over just four innings. Brewers baseball!

It was a bounce-back win that shows how different this team is in the Pat Murphy/Rickie Weeks era. They always try to bite back. And this time, the bite was a 441-foot monster dinger from Christian Yelich in the bottom of the first. Then Adames's second home run of the series.

There were so many bright spots from this game, Blake Perkins had the game of his career. He was 2-4 with a home run and two RBIs. His defense on Wednesday night, however, was probably the real highlight.

Sorry to make you do some research here, but there have been some great deep dives recently on Perkins's defense. I would suggest checking them out. He's a top-10 defensive outfielder right now. Milwaukee is not getting nearly enough credit for how many games they are winning with their defense. That's why, when you see a couple of missed plays by Jake Bauers on Wednesday night, everyone is puzzled. When you aren't used to seeing it, it shocks the system. 

Brewers win 10-6, and at least clinch the series tie.

Game Four and Gary Sánchez Says Hi
Another great game to wrap up the series. Another solid start from Colin Rea, the quiet MVP of this team right now. With the way they are currently playing, I would have no problem going Peralta, Gasser and Rea in a playoff series. With a stacked bullpen behind them, we are in good shape. That being said, I fully expect this team to trade for a solid number-two or -three starter before the deadline. I would be shocked if they didn't.

Willy Adames is now on a nine-game hitting streak. That's good, right? Because I still keep seeing people claim he needs to be traded and is not good. That's why he trails only Corey Seager in home runs by shortstops since the start of 2021? That's what bad players do? He went 2-3 with a run, and has brought his average up to .260. Am I digging for lamps so I can wish that he signs a three-year extension that is extremely team-friendly? Yes, I am.

Once again, the Cubs bullpen fell apart. They only gave up three hits, but they also issued two walks and three earned runs in the process. For the Brewers, Bryan Hudson also showed he was human. He still has a 1.13 ERA and 37 punch-outs, so I am not worried about him right now.

But we have to talk about Gary Sánchez. What a signing he has been. He's the perfect DH and backup catcher for this team. William Contreras banged up a finger after Wednesday's game, so hopefully he just has to play it safe for a bit. You could tell he wasn't 100% on Thursday swinging the bat. With more than 24 hours between games, it should be in better shape for the White Sox series. 

Anyway, back to Sánchez. The 31-year-old veteran was only 2-for-12 in the Cubs series, but sometimes that doesn't tell the whole story. That double and home run led to four runs. And his two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth Thursday helped seal the victory during the Thursday afternoon game. "The Kraken" now has a .231 average, with seven home runs and an OPS of .772. Last season, he ended with a .219 average, 19 total home runs and an OPS of .780. The dude knows how to get on base and hit the ball hard when needed. He could easily have 25 to 30 long ones this season, though hopefully, he'll be kept in a role too small for that.

Winning three out of four during Counsell's return to Milwaukee series was a huge deal and should be a huge confidence booster for this squad. Yelich, Contreras and Brice Turang are all playing like All-Stars. Joey Ortiz has an .877 OPS, and is in the mix for NL Rookie of the Year right now. Adames is having his best season since 2021. Sal Frelick, Perkins and Chourio are all hitting better, while playing some great defense. Hoskins is almost back, while Sánchez and Jake Bauers have been hitting for power to pick up the slack.

Let's hope it continues against the White Sox. It is the perfect trap series that has plagued Milwaukee before. Losing to bad teams when they should easily win. 

I'll be there Saturday, so they better bring it. Be good people, and go Brewers!

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[Kripes - Brewers]

Go Crew! Have a great time Saturday and cheer hard - I'll hold ya to it!