DuWayne Steurer

While I acknowledge that it's a quirky thing, and maybe a little silly, why does it bother anyone? I rarely use caps when I'm on my phone, for the simple fact of the (lack of) convenience of hitting the caps key, and for some reason, my phone hasn't figured out that after a period, it should auto-cap the next letter. While it's silly-ish, it's a pretty minor thing to be bothered or annoyed by, and it doesn't make the posts less readable. They're not news articles on the front page, which would be a different beast altogether, yes?

I didn't go into a lot of detail in the article about this, but I just want to add that the Pirates handling of Cam Vieaux was shameful, IMO. Letting a reliever throw almost 60 pitches in one inning is plainly, inexcusable. Not even having a guy getting ready to throw when he clearly didn't have his stuff, and wrapping it around "saving his bullpen" is just not even poor management, it's shameful. Now, Cam Vieaux is a 28 year old rookie who most people have never heard of, isn't on any radars or whatever, isn't a high profile prospect or stud, and probably doesn't have a 10 - 15 year career in front of him, but that's not the point. Throwing a guy for 56 pitches in one inning is just a massive setup for failure, and there's a reason you don't do it, and that's because guys arms aren't conditioned for it.

I didn't go into a lot of detail in the article about this, but I just want to add that the Pirates handling of Cam Vieaux was shameful, IMO. Letting a reliever throw almost 60 pitches in one inning is plainly, inexcusable. Not even having a guy getting ready to throw when he clearly didn't have his stuff, and wrapping it around "saving his bullpen" is just not even poor management, it's shameful. Now, Cam Vieaux is a 28 year old rookie who most people have never heard of, isn't on any radars or whatever, isn't a high profile prospect or stud, and probably doesn't have a 10 - 15 year career in front of him, but that's not the point. Throwing a guy for 56 pitches in one inning is just a massive setup for failure, and there's a reason you don't do it, and that's because guys arms aren't conditioned for it.

Before returning home for the 4th of July, the Brewers play four in the Steel City. The Brewers come into the series 6-0 on the season against the Bucs. Red hot Rowdy Tellez has a pair of multi-homerun games in the last week, and looks to add onto his total. Game 1 -- Pirates 8, Brewers 7 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT202206300.shtml Beleaguered Brewers starter Adrian Houser was knocked around again, giving up five runs in just 2 1/3 innings before leaving the game with what was later called "elbow tightness". While Houser has not pitched well of late, an already banged up Brewers rotation can ill afford another long IL stay from yet another starter. Christian Yelich continued his hot hitting from the leadoff spot, knocking an RBI triple in the third inning, and scoring on an RBI groundout, and went two for five on the night. The big story for the night was Pittsburgh backup catcher Michael Perez, who came into the game with a career OPS below .550 and just twelve career homeruns in over 500 plate appearances, who hammered three home runs on the night. Hitting one off of Houser, another off of Brent Suter, and finally, tagging Jason Alexander in the sixth inning, for three of the five homeruns the Pirates hit on the night. Down 8-4, the Brewers put up a rally in the ninth inning, with Jace Peterson and Yelich reaching on Singles, and Willy Adames hitting an RBI double. After Rowdy Tellez drove in another run with a groundout, Andrew McCutchen walked and Kolten Wong singled to bring the Crew to within a run at 8-7, but the rally was snuffed out as Luis Urias flew out to end the game. Houser takes the loss, and his record drops to 4-8 on the season. Game 2 -- Brewers 19, Pirates 2 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT202207010.shtml That's not a typo. The Brewers put up a nineteen spot on the Pirates. Corbin Burnes , who hasn't exactly been the beneficiary of heavy run support, watched his offense put up a seven spot in the second inning. Burnes struggled a bit with the command tonight, walking four and hitting a batter, but he gave up just one hit and one run. In that second inning, the Brewers batted around and then some, with Urias, Keston Hiura, and Tellez all hitting home runs for the Brewers, and chasing Pirates starter Austin Brice from the game after just 1 2/3 innings. The homerun from Tellez, his 16th, was a three run shot that tied him for the team lead with Adames at sixteen, just before the halfway point of the season. Tellez notched two more RBI in the fourth inning with a two run double, giving him five RBI for the night, and pushing the Brewers lead to 9-0. In the eighth inning, the Pirates brought in reliever Cam Vieaux, and the Brewers proceeded to knock the rookie reliever around. The first ten batters reached base as Vieaux pitched to fourteen batters and threw 56 pitches in the inning. Pirates manager Derek Shelton told reporters after the game that he was saving his bullpen. The most pitches thrown in an inning since that data has been kept (1988) is 62, by Russ Ortiz. A notorious record to be chasing, to be sure. During the Brewers eighth inning, with the game well in hand, there wasn't much else to do but add to the Brewers run differential, and that's just what Willy did with the bases loaded. Pirates first baseman Josh VanMeter moved to the mound for the ninth, and Victor Caratini greeted him with his sixth home run of the season, pushing the score to 18-2, and the Brewers closed out the scoring with a groundout RBI from Mike Brosseau. Manager Craig Counsell turned to Brosseau to close this one out, and he nearly pitched a clean ninth inning, aside from an error from second baseman Hiura. With the easy win, Burnes moves to 7-4 Game 3 - Pirates 7, Brewers 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT202207020.shtml Aaron Ashby returned from the IL to take the mound for the Crew as the Brewers tried to earn at least a split of the series. The Brewers struck in the top of the first with a two out RBI single from Wong. The Brewers lost a golden opportunity in the second when with men on second and third with just one out, Yelich lined out and Peterson was doubled off of third base to end the inning. Ashby worked through the first pair of frames with just a walk and a single, punching out four Pirates batters. In the third, he ran into trouble, and with one run already in, surrendered a home run to Brian Reynolds . In the fourth inning, the Pirates exciting rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz took Ashby deep, and Ashby's day came to a close at just 3 2/3 innings. Yelich brought the Brewers back within a pair with his eighth home run in the top of the fifth, In the bottom of the frame, Trevor Gott allowed a pair of walks, and was one out away from getting out of the inning when he was relieved by Hoby Milner. The normally reliable Milner surrendered a pair of base hits before getting the third out and the Brewers were down 7-2. The Brewers grabbed a pair of runs back in the eighth on a solo home run by Wong and an RBI double by Peterson, but ultimately couldn't muster a rally in the ninth. The Brewers had baserunners in every inning today, but hit into a pair of double plays and burned a runner caught stealing a base. Ashby's record drops to 1-6 and the Brewers head into the series finale needing a win to get the split. Game 4 -- Brewers 2, Pirates 0 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355416 Brandon Woodruff 's second start back from the IL wasn't quite as good as the first one, but the result was the same. Six innings, no runs allowed, and eight strikeouts today as the Brewers shutout the Pirates behind another solid start from Woodruff. For the second start in a row, Woodruff didn't walk a batter. The Brewers offense didn't do much for Woodruff today, but in the fifth inning, Omar Narvaez provided all the offense the Brewers would need. Narvaez's third homerun of the season made it 2-0 Brewers, and that would be all the margin the Crew would need. After Woodruff pitched six innings, the usual lockdown trio of Brad Boxberger, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader picked up the last three innings. Unusually, all three of them had runners on base today. Boxberger gave up a walk and a hit, but worked out of the seventh, and Hader loaded the bases in the ninth with a walk, a single, and a batter reaching on a strikeout/wild pitch combo. Despite all the traffic, he secured his 25th save in game number 81, making a winner of Woodruff, who is now 7-3 on the season. The Brewers will now head home and face the Cubs. View full article

my jaw dropped. running full speed doing a full out dive going away from home plate? into the wall? if Davis can keep his OBP north of 330 or so I like what he offers as a bench bat/defensive replace.ement

my jaw dropped. running full speed doing a full out dive going away from home plate? into the wall? if Davis can keep his OBP north of 330 or so I like what he offers as a bench bat/defensive replace.ement

The Brewers headed to Florida for a short two-game series against the tough Tampa Bay Rays. Brandon Woodruff returned to boost the Brewers rotation, and Kolten Wong also returned from the IL after a three week stint to help the Crew take on the Rays. Game 1 -- Brewers 5, Rays 3 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TBA/TBA202206280.shtml Brandon Woodruff returned from the IL and the Brewers threw him into action against the Rays, with manager Craig Counsell telling reporters pre-game that Woodruff would be on a 75-80 pitch limit. Woodruff was brilliant in his return from the one month layoff, striking out ten, allowing just one run on two hits. Woodruff hit 99 on the radar a handful of times, and looked sharp right from the get-go, striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced, going through the first three innings in order. In the fourth inning, Woodruff gave up a double and an RBI single, but didn't allow another runner through the remainder of his start. The 99-mph cheddar he threw past Brett Phillips to strike out the side had to be the highlight of his night. A healthy, dealing Woodruff is a huge boost to the Brewers rotation, obviously. While Woodruff's early season numbers look fairly pedestrian, most of his peripheral numbers are right in line with last years near-Cy Young numbers. If last night's stellar outing is any indication, maybe now the Brewers will get the results to go along with the performance the rest of the way. Only time will tell, but the Brewers are a better team with Woodruff than without. All that aside, the Brewers entered the sixth inning down 1-0, and looked to make Woody's fantastic return all for naught. With two down and a man on second base, Andrew McCutchen continued his hot hitting. The Brewers tacked on two more in the inning with an no doubt shot from Luis Urias . In the eighth inning, Urias added an RBI double to make it 5-1 Brewers. Things got a little bit interesting in the bottom of the frame when Counsell brought in starter Jason Alexander to get some work, and he walked the first two batters, gave up a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to allow the Rays to pull within two. Devin Williams came in to finish out the inning, but using a starter, and a rookie at that to work the eighth inning is an interesting strategy, and one that almost backfired on Counsell. To be sure, he doesn't want to overuse Williams, but in the end, he ended up using him anyways. Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 23rd save. Woodruff secured the win thanks to the Brewers big rally in the sixth, and bumps his record on the season to 6-3. The Brewers roll into Wednesday looking for the sweep in the two game set. Game 2 -- Brewers 5, Rays 3 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355365 Brewers starter Eric Lauer struggled once again, lasting just 4 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and two walks, while throwing 92 pitches over his start today. While he did allow just three runs, Lauer worked in and out of trouble the entire time, and struggled to find the zone, while his E.R.A bumped up over 4.00 for the season now. Lauer's day might have been worse if not for this catch by Jonathan Davis. Rowdy Tellez homered in the second, a solo home run to put the Brewers up 1-0. Down 2-1 in the fifth inning, Urias hit his second homerun in as many days. The Rays tied it back up in the fifth, but solo home runs by Tellez in the eighth and super utility man Jace Peterson in the ninth inning put the Crew back up 5-3. Tellez's second two-homer game in a week has him now at fifteen on the season and brought his OPS up to a solid .818 nearing the halfway point. The catwalk home runs make the Trop interesting, if not aesthetically pleasing. Hader allowed a few baserunners in the ninth, but ultimately locked down save number 24, and the Brewers get the short series sweep in Tampa. Brad Boxberger picked up the win with an inning of scoreless relief, moving his record to 2-1. The bullpen did a nice job overall today, with Jandel Gustave, Hoby Milner , Boxberger, Williams, and Hader combining for 4 2/3 scoreless innings of one hit ball in relief of Lauer. Next up, The Brewers, Tellez, and his home run road show travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates in a 4-game set at PNC Park. Hopefully we'll get to see a few river shots, but barring that, a few Brew Crew wins. View full article

this is all spot on. analytics can tell you that you score more runs the way the game is played now and I think most of us would agree that looking at the data etc etc etc , but the phrase that keeps being said is "it's not asesthetically pleasing" Watching guys like wade boggs and Tony gwynn hit was fun. Ricky Henderson stealing 130 bases was cool! even if I know that getting caught 42 (!!!!) times nullified a lot of the positive value of his 130 steals. it's just things we don't see anymore. guys don't hit .370. guys don't steal 80+ bags. it's definitely a different game.

this is all spot on. analytics can tell you that you score more runs the way the game is played now and I think most of us would agree that looking at the data etc etc etc , but the phrase that keeps being said is "it's not asesthetically pleasing" Watching guys like wade boggs and Tony gwynn hit was fun. Ricky Henderson stealing 130 bases was cool! even if I know that getting caught 42 (!!!!) times nullified a lot of the positive value of his 130 steals. it's just things we don't see anymore. guys don't hit .370. guys don't steal 80+ bags. it's definitely a different game.

Craig Counsell had the worst stance ever. and there's no way it helped him hit. ?

Craig Counsell had the worst stance ever. and there's no way it helped him hit. ?

Emulating oglivie and cooper's stances in my backyard playing wiffleball was how I learned to switch hit. seemed like most of the guys on that 82 squad had a unique stance.

Emulating oglivie and cooper's stances in my backyard playing wiffleball was how I learned to switch hit. seemed like most of the guys on that 82 squad had a unique stance.

The Brewers continued their fight for first place with a weekend three-game set against the Blue Jays, sporting their new 414 City Connect uniforms at home for the first time. While the aesthetics of the new uniforms are open to interpretation, the importance of the three game set wasn't, as the Brewers came in tied for first with the Cardinals. Game 1 -- Blue Jays 9, Brewers 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202206240.shtml The Jays tagged Brewers starter Adrian Houser with five runs in the top of the second, leading off the inning with six straight base hits before Houser worked out of the jam. Houser recovered and worked six innings on the night, and while not a quality start, eating up six innings saved manager Craig Counsell from having to use up a bullpen in the first game of an important three-game set. Talk about trying to find a silver lining. Trevor Kelly surrendered two home runs and three earned in his inning of work, bringing his total to seven home runs allowed on the season in just sixteen innings of work. Peter Strzelecki worked two innings, allowing a run, with his ERA sitting at an even 4.00 after his outing, and was sent back to Nashville, with Kelly (somehow) maintaining a spot on the Milwaukee roster. Tyrone Taylor did sock his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot, in the seventh inning. Taylor's recent mini hot streak has seen him get his OPS back over .720 and push his RBI total to third on the team. Adrian Houser dropped his record to 4-8 on the season. Game 2 -- Brewers 5, Blue Jays 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202206250.shtml With Corbin Burnes on the mound, and the offense staking him to a five-run lead by the end of the third inning, this one looked like the Crew was going to cruise to an easy win. In the end however, the Brewers had to sweat out a close one as the Jays slowly climbed back in and made it a one-run game in the end. Tyrone Taylor started the Brewers off with an RBI single in the first. In the bottom of the second, Willy Adames had an RBI base knock, and Andrew McCutchen pushed it to 4-0 with his sixth big fly of the season. McCutchen has pretty quietly put up some decent numbers after an admittedly bad start to the season. Standing at a .684 OPS after sitting in the .550 range five to six weeks ago has to make the Brewers feel a bit better about the investment and hopefully he can continue to put up the kind of numbers he's put up for the last month for the rest of the season. In the bottom of the fourth, Mike Brosseau, freshly returned from the IL smashed his fourth home run of the season. Brosseau and his .843 OPS bench bat are a nice addition for a team that has struggled to score runs consistently. Burnes pitched scoreless into the fifth inning until the dangerous Blue Jays lineup caught up with him. Matt Chapman hit a solo home run and Cavan Biggio drove in a run with an RBI groundout. Burnes worked further into the eighth inning when he gave up another solo home run to Bo Bichette. At 7 2/3 innings of work, Burnes was relieved by Devin Williams, who has been unscored on in his last eighteen appearances. Williams struck out Alejandro Kirk to end the inning and send the Brewers to the ninth with a two-run lead. Josh Hader came in to close things out and struck out the first two batters, then gave up a double and an RBI single. With the tying run now at the plate, Hader induced a game ending ground out and made a winner of Burnes. The earned run was just the third allowed by Hader on the season as we near the halfway point. Burnes record moves to 6-4, and the save for Hader was his 22nd, against one blown save. The Brewers held serve with the Cardinals, and they remain tied for first, going into the series finale Game 3 -- Brewers 10, Blue Jays 3 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355330 Brewers emergency starter Chi Chi Gonzalez was slapped for three runs in the top of the first, and it looked like it was going to be a long day for the Brewers and fans. However, in the bottom of the first, the Crew and offense struck back. A two-run blast from Rowdy Tellez got the Brewers back within a run. Followed up by an Omar Narvaez RBI double, the game was knotted at three after the first inning. Heading into the second inning, the Brewers proceeded to pour it on. New centerfielder Jonathan Davis started it off with an RBI infield single. Christian Yelich followed up by knocking a run in with an RBI groundout. With the Brewers up a pair, Adames struck next with an RBI single to make it 6-3. To cap the scoring in the second, Tellez came up and added another pair of RBI. Gonzalez pitched four innings for the Brewers today, allowing the three runs in the first. Jandel Gustave pitched a pair of innings to pick up the win, giving up just a pair of hits. Trevor Gott returned from the IL as well, pitching a scoreless inning. Overall, the Brewers pen threw five scoreless today, and given the large lead the offense provided, Counsell never needed to turn to his lockdown trio of Boxberger, Williams or Hader. Gustave picks up the win, his first of the season against no losses. The Brewers took a one game lead in the division as the Cardinals fell to the Cubs this afternoon. With Hunter Renfroe going back on the IL, Davis will get at least a little bit of a longer look in Milwaukee as well. While he's never put up stellar numbers at the MLB level, he's also never had more than a handful of plate appearances in a single season. It will be interesting to see how Counsell continues to use Davis and what kind of move or moves the Brewers may make depending on the expected length of Renfroe's absence. Up next for the Crew is a day off on Monday, followed by a three-game series at the tough Tampa Rays, as the Brewers continue to fight the Cards for the top spot in the NL Central. View full article

Having won just three of their past fifteen games, the Brewers rode into Cincinnati needing a big boost in momentum. Dropping as much as 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central, the Crew looks to make up some ground in the two-team race for the division crown. Game 1 -- Brewers 5, Reds 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN202206170.shtml Game one of the three game set started out with three scoreless frames from each side. Eric Lauer worked through the Reds lineup the first time through allowing just one single, and looked sharp, striking out four in the first three innings. Hunter Renfroe got things going for the offense with two men on in the fourth for the Crew with his eleventh home run of the season. Willy Adames followed up with a solo shot in the fifth inning to give the Brewers a 4-0 lead. Lauer started getting into trouble in the bottom of the fifth, surrendering a two run home run to Albert Almora. In the sixth, Lauer gave up two more solo home runs that knotted the game at four. But in the seventh, Keston Hiura provided the decisive shot. With Hiura struggling against left handed pitching all season, his first home run against lefties came at an opportune time. With the Brewers holding a 5-4 lead, Lauer got through one more out to finish his night at 6 1/3 innings before turning the ball over to Miguel Sanchez, who finished the seventh, Devin Williams worked the eighth scoreless, and Brad Boxberger came on in the ninth to work his first save. Two of the first three men reached base before Boxberger induced a force groundout, to bring up pinch hitter Joey Votto . With the game on the line, Votto flew out to deep right center field, and the Brewers held on for the win. Lauer improves his record to 6-2 on the season, while Boxberger records his first save of the season. Game 2 - Brewers 7, Reds 3 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN202206180.shtml Jason Alexander got his fifth start in place of injured Brandon Woodruff. While the peripheral stats look average at best and Alexander's strikeout rate is certainly pedestrian, the production and results have been a steady presence in the rotation while the Brewers wait for Woodruff's return. The Brewers gave Alexander an early lead on a first inning RBI double by Rowdy Tellez. The Crew struck again in the third on a two run home run by Willy Adames, and an RBI double by Luis Urias. The Reds squeezed across an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Brewers got two more back in the sixth on a two-run double by Jace Peterson. In the bottom of the sixth, Alexander got into trouble, allowing four base hits and a pair of runs before being relieved by Miguel Sanchez to preserve the lead. Renfroe tacked another run onto the board for the Brewers in the seventh with a solo home run, his second in as many days, and put the Brewers back up 7-3. Trevor Kelly came on in the bottom of the frame and work 1 2/3 innings before giving the ball to Hoby Milner who finished the game out for the Crew. Milner didn't get credit for a save, but struck out two, giving up just a single and dropped his ERA for the season down to 2.20. Jason Alexander picks up the win, the first of the season and career for the 29 year old rookie, who is now 1-0. Game 3 - Brewers 6, Reds 3 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355229 Trying to complete the sweep, Craig Counsell handed the ball to Adrian Houser. Houser tossed a quality start today, going six innings and allowing three runs. He ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing all three runs in that frame. Houser recovered after that and tossed a scoreless fifth and sixth inning and handed the ball over to the pen. Houser was helped in the first by a nice grab by Andrew McCutchen, who turned back the clock a little bit to his gold glove days and took a run or two off the board from the Reds with this beautiful sliding grab. The Brewers struck first, with an RBI double by Urias in the top of the fourth, followed by Victor Caratini's fifth big fly of the season. Of the twelve Brewers batsmen that have 100 or more plate appearances, Caratini is the only player with an OPS over .800 currently. One would wager that won't hold until the end of the season, but right now, he is providing a boost to the offense when he plays. The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, but as previously mentioned, Houser settled down and held the Reds bats in check for two more innings, completing six solid, if unspectacular innings of work. The Brewers took the lead back in the sixth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of utility call-up Mark Mathias, and put a few insurance runs on the board in the seventh when Renfroe knocked his third home run in three days with McCutchen on board to make the score 6-3 Brewers. In the bottom of the frame, the Reds loaded the bases with two outs off of Kelly. With aging, but still feared slugger Votto coming up, the Brewers turned to Milner, who struck Votto out to end the threat. After that pivotal moment, Boxberger and WIlliams handled the last two innings with relative ease to complete the game and the sweep. Houser got the win to go to 4-7, and Devin Williams picked up his 5th save. The shorthanded Brewers completed the sweep and with the Cardinals losing to the Red Sox, are now tied again for first in the NL Central. A pivotal series starts next in Milwaukee with the Brewers and Cards squaring off with first place on the line. View full article

thanks bscr! Happy to fill in.

thanks bscr! Happy to fill in.

Final season of Peaky Blinders released on Friday. The final season was a fantastic ending, and they left just enough loose storyline to make that movie they want to make (if they're so inclined), and wrapped up a lot of others, if indeed this is the end of the line for the series altogether.

The Brewers play a three game weekend set in Washington, looking to snap a season high six game skid. With the Cardinals hot on their heels entering the weekend set, the Brewers need a win to hang on to first place in the NL Central. Game 1 -- Nationals 11, Brewers 5 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202206100.shtml Aaron Ashby gave up thirteen hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings in his start tonight, allowing six runs and only managing two strikeouts. The Brewers briefly gave Ashby a 2-1 lead on a mammoth two run home run from Jace Peterson in the second inning, as he launched one almost 430 feet to right center field with Andrew McCutchen aboard. Peterson notched another RBI in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, again knocking McCutchen in. However, the wheels started to fall off for Ashby in the bottom of the frame. A solo home run by Maikel Franco, followed by a series of soft contact singles to score another run put the Nationals up 5-3 going into the fifth. In the fifth, Ashby gave up three more hits, including a triple, and was relieved by the previously reliable Miguel Sanchez. Coming into the game tonight, Sanchez had been sporting a 1.17 ERA on the season in ten appearances. Tonight Sanchez gave up four earned runs in just an inning and a third, giving up home runs to Josh Bell and Keibert Ruiz. The Brewers scored twice in the eights on a sacrifice fly by Rowdy Tellez and an RBI base hit by McCutchen but didn't seriously threaten after getting down 10-3. Ashby's loss drops him to 1-5 on the season. Game 2 -- Nationals 8, Brewers 6 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202206110.shtml The Brewers offense put runs on the board for the second night in a row, but again, just like the night before, the starting pitching was less than stellar. Tonight, Eric Lauer was knocked around for eight runs on seven hits, while also giving up three long balls to the Nationals. The Brewers got into a big hole early, and while they had a few rallies late, ultimately couldn't climb all the way back. Christian Yelich lead off the game for the Crew with a solo home run, and has been producing solid at bats since being inserted into the leadoff spot. plit ▲ G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ Batting 1st 4 4 19 18 3 8 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 4 .444 .474 .611 1.085 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 .539 204 206 https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=yelicch01&year=2022&t=b Obviously, we're looking at an extremely small sample, but the Brewers and Craig Counsell have to be happy with the production they're getting from Yelich if they continue to leave him in the leadoff spot in the order. After Lauer allowed eight unanswered runs, the Brewers started battling back. Lorenzo Cain socked an RBI double, followed by a two run home run by recent call up Mark Mathias brought the Brewers back to within four. With two outs, the Brewers then loaded the bases, bringing the tying run to the plate in Rowdy Tellez who lined out to first base on a rocket liner to end the threat. In the ninth inning, the Brewers again threatened, with Luis Urias knocking a two run home run, bringing the Crew to within a pair, but the rally ended there, as Tellez struck out to end the game. Lauer dropped to 5-2 on the season. The optimistic thought is that the Brewers had scored 11 runs over the previous two games and perhaps they were starting to break out of their offensive doldrums, but at the long end of an eight game losing streak, moral victories don't mean a whole lot. Heading into the series finale, the Brewers have now dropped into second place, a game and a half behind the rival Cardinals. Game 3 -- Brewers 4, Nationals 1 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355137 Jason Alexander gets the ball for the third time, and once again was working with men on base quite often. Alexander allowed seven hits and walked three in just 4 2/3 innings, but allowed just one run before skipper Craig Counsell pulled the plug on his afternoon. From there, Hoby Milner and the rest of the bullpen shut down the Nationals offense. Willy Adames has been struggling since coming off the DL. His batting average had dipped below .200 and his OPS had dipped close to the .700 mark. With the game in the third inning, Adames came up with two outs and a man on third, and Willy delivered a clutch knock. Sliding ahead to the fifth inning, Adames delivering the decisive blow in the game. And just like that, Willy Adames was good again. Andrew McCutchen added a home run in the ninth to finish the scoring for the Crew. Hoby Milner pitched 1 1/3 scoreless through the sixth inning, and Brad Boxberger, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader carved up the Nationals through the final three innings to finish things off. Hader bounced back from his blown save against Philadelphia earlier in the week to strike out the side in order today and record his 19th save. Hoby Milner gets the win, and improved his record to 3-1. Milner has been a nice piece in the middle of the pen through the first third-plus of the season. Milner leads the Brewers in relief appearances and has lowered his ERA on the season now to 2.45. Of course the biggest story of the day for the Brewers is the snapping of the eight game losing streak. With the win and the Cardinals loss the Brewers step back to just a half game behind the Cardinals. With a day off tomorrow, and a tough series starting Tuesday against the Mets in New York, the Brewers can hopefully build on the positive momentum here and get back to consistent ball and get back to the top of the standings in the NL Central. View full article

that was some hard baseball to stomach for sure.