DuWayne Steurer

The Brewers took on the Pirates in another critical three game series starting Monday. Despite a series win over the rival Cubs in the weekend set, a disappointing loss in Friday night's tilt left the Brewers still chasing the Padres for the final wild card spot, down a game and a half after the weekend. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports The Brewers took on the Pirates in another critical three game series starting Monday. Despite a series win over the rival Cubs in the weekend set, a disappointing loss in Friday night's tilt left the Brewers still chasing the Padres for the final wild card spot, down a game and a half after the weekend. Game 1 -- Brewers 7, Pirates 5 Box Score Brewers ace Corbin Burnes took the hill for the first game of the series. The Brewers struck first, getting an RBI single from Willy Adames in the third, and an RBI double from hot hitting Hunter Renfroe later in the same frame. Staked to a three-run lead, Burnes pitched four scoreless innings, working around trouble until the fifth. An RBI single, and a three-run homerun by notorious Brewers killer Oneil Cruz gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead. The Pirates tagged Burnes for one more run in the sixth, and carried a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning. With two outs in the eights, and still down 5-3, Omar Narvaez drew a walk, prompting the Pirates to bring in reliever Wil Crowe. Freshly minted Brewers callup Garrett Mitchell greeted Crowe with his first career big league blast to tie the game. Devin Williams pitched a scoreless top of the ninth for the Brewers and Keston Hiura sent 'em home happy two batters into the bottom of the frame. Williams got the win for the Brewers on the walk-off, and his record improves to 5-3 on the year. Game 2 -- Pirates 4, Brewers 2 Box Score Jason Alexander took the hill for the Brewers tonight looking to stretch the Crew's modest win streak to four games. Alexander pitched well tonight and set a career high in strikeouts before the end of the third inning, with six punchouts. The Brewers staked Alexander to a 2-1 lead, on a Kolten Wong two-run homerun in the fourth inning. Alexander was pulled at the end of the fifth inning, having thrown just 59 pitches and allowing just three hits and one run. An argument could be made for sending Alexander back out to work another inning, but the top of the order was also due back up, and Alexander has an 1.112 OPS against when he faces the opposing order a third time through. That has to play in the decision making. Hoby Milner relieved Alexander and pitched a scoreless sixth. Matt Bush took the seventh, and gave up a run on a solo home run to Michael Chavis. Brad Boxberger and Peter Strzelecki each gave up a run in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as the bullpen collectively failed to back up Alexander tonight. The Brewers had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, with men on first and third and only one out, but Luis Urias grounded into a game ending double play to end the threat. Boxberger took the loss, dropping to 3-3 on the season. Game 3 -- Brewers 6, Pirates 1 Box Score Freddy Peralta took the hill for the series win.. Peralta pitched five solid innings, giving up just one run, on a solo home run to former Brewer (and noted Brewer killer) Ben Gamel, who has a higher OPS against the Brewers than any other team aside from the Tigers and Mariners, who he has only 8 plate appearances against. Aside from the dinger to Gamel, Peralta went five innings and struck out three batters, gave up just two hits, and threw just seventy four pitches. The Brewers tied the game in the fifth, on a Adames RBI double, and took the lead on an Narvaez groundout in the sixth. The Crew tacked on four runs in the seventh, and never looked back. Hiura and Urias RBI singles, followed by a pair of bases loaded walks around a pair of Pirates defensive miscues gave the Brewers a 6-1 lead. Adrian Houser returned and pitched two scoreless innings in relief today to mop up the game and secure the victory for Taylor Rogers, moving him to 3-6 on the year, and giving another series win to the Brewers as they get a day off on Thursday before heading to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks. View full article

I'm excited about the OF talent at the top of the system. We'll see how it all plays out of course but it's nice to have a logjam at the top levels.

I'm excited about the OF talent at the top of the system. We'll see how it all plays out of course but it's nice to have a logjam at the top levels.

The same could be said for a lot of guys though. If he continues to be the same guy we have seen most of this year, I'd expect his OPS+ to not really change all that dramatically.

If Yelich could even SLG% .450 or so, it would be a big boost for the offense. If he could even be a 20 - 22 homerun guy, with his OBP, he'd have a bit more utility than he does at this point.

I wonder if the Chicago media will ask Ross why he took Sampson out in the 4th inning when he was doing alright and was only at 61 pitches, or will lob him a bunch of softballs like the MKE media does for Craigers.

Why? What a rally killer that is. Just silly.

My all time favorite Brewer. And player. Dude was my absolute hero when I was a wee lad and why I still have a soft spot for big swingin', home run hittin', strikeout machines today. I literally cried when they traded him in 83, and I didn't care that he was having an awful, awful season. Him not being a Brewer couldn't even register to my 9 year old brain. Very nice write up. Thanks for this!

My all time favorite Brewer. And player. Dude was my absolute hero when I was a wee lad and why I still have a soft spot for big swingin', home run hittin', strikeout machines today. I literally cried when they traded him in 83, and I didn't care that he was having an awful, awful season. Him not being a Brewer couldn't even register to my 9 year old brain. Very nice write up. Thanks for this!

Counsell is dying on the inside with Hiura having a 2 HR day.

Caratini is fine as a backup C. I don't expect (well, hope...really) Adames to have a sub .300 OBP next year. I'd bring him back. Even at that, he's a 30 HR-capable SS who's more suited for hitting 6th. Renfroe and Rowdy I'd look for upgrades, but I wouldn't hesitate to bring them back if *obvious* upgrades couldn't be had. Urias is a solid-ish super sub. and utility guy if you don't bring back Peterson.

I'm not entirely sure about that.

There's definitely a difference between "having the highest OPS on the team" and "the guy who's the best hitter"... and that could be entirely up to debate. That being said, Keston Hiura's produced enough in his playing time this year that at this point, even if the advanced data says his current level of production isn't sustainable (and I'm not sure that's entirely accurate, to be honest), he should be getting playing time until he shows that he can't sustain a .775 - 800 or so OPS. You have an offense struggling to score runs, and a guy on the bench who provides OBP and power, who the manager stubbornly refuses to play, and it's mind boggling.

At this point put McCutchen out there and live with his bad defense. The Taylor/Davis combo just ...... yeh

The Brewers take on the National League top dog Dodgers in a four game series at American Family Field in a mid week series. With the Cardinals now having jumped the Brewers into first place in the NL Central, this series is critical for the Crew if they hope to have any chance at regaining the lead in the division. Image courtesy of © MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK The Brewers take on the National League top dog Dodgers in a four game series at American Family Field in a mid week series. With the Cardinals now having jumped the Brewers into first place in the NL Central, this series is critical for the Crew if they hope to have any chance at regaining the lead in the division. Game 1 -- Dodgers 4, Brewers 0 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208150.shtml Freddy Peralta worked game one for the Brewers, against (one of) the Dodgers aces, Julio Urias. Peralta struggled with his command, walking four and throwing 92 pitches in just four innings. Freddy only allowed one run on a solo home run in the first inning to Freddie Freeman, but with the Brewers scuffling offense, tonight that proved to be enough. There just wasn't much going on for the Brewers offensively tonight. Four hits, a pair of walks by Christian Yelich. Their best opportunity to score was the bottom of the first when Yelich leadoff with a walk and Willy Adames singled, but a strikeout and two fly ball outs ended the scoring chance. Hunter Renfroe lead off the bottom of the third with a double, but again, didn't move off of second base. On the night, the Brewers went 0-9 with men in scoring position. The team didn't have a lot of baserunners, but in those opportunities, they absolutely failed to cash in. If you're the type that's looking for a bright spot, Jason Alexander came in late and put up three scoreless innings of solid relief work. Freddy Peralta's record drops to 4-3 on the season with the loss. Game 2 -- Brewers 5, Dodgers 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208160.shtml The Brewers sent Brandon Woodruff against Ryan Pepiot in game two. The Brewers offense ended the scoreless streak right away with Christian Yelich taking a leadoff walk and Willy Adames banging a two run homerun to left. Woodruff cruised along for the Crew until the fifth, when he gave up a pair of solo homeruns to Mookie Betts and Joey Gallo. With his pitch count in the 90's, that signalled the end of the night for Woody. In the bottom of the fifth, the Brewers got a power boost from an unexpected source. The Brewers held the 3-2 lead until the seventh inning when the Dodgers Chris Taylor hit a solo home run off of Matt Bush. The score stayed knotted all the way until the 11th, when the Dodgers scored their ghost runner off of Brent Suter with a single, but Suter limited the Dodgers to just the one run. In the bottom of the frame, with Andrew McCutchen stationed at second base to start the inning, and closer Craig Kimbrel on the mound, slugger Hunter Renfroe shocked probably everyone watching when he laid a bunt single down the third base line. With runners at the corners, Kolten Wong struck out, Luis Urias walked, and the Brewers faced the prospect of a double play ball ending the rally. Victor Caratini delivered. It's not shown in this clip, but Hunter Renfroe had to get a great read on this ball right off the bat to score on this little bloop. With only one out, he had to be sure that was dropping. Great baseball in the 11th inning from Hunter Renfroe. Brent Suter gets the win, and moves to 4-3 on the season. Game 3 -- Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208170.shtml Eric Lauer pitched seven strong innings for the Crew tonight, giving up just two runs on solo homers to Austin Barnes and Max Muncy, but his Dodgers counterpart Tony Gonsolin was even better, shutting down the Brewers for seven innings on just two hits and a walk. Lauer went pitch for pitch with the Cy Young candidate Gonsolin for the first five innings, putting zeros on the board until the sixth, when Barnes got him for a solo homerun, and Muncy followed the next inning with a solo dinger of his own. On the night, Lauer allowed just four hits and three walks while striking out seven against the tough Dodgers lineup. The Brewers got one back in the eighth inning when Christian Yelich singled home a run. Willy Adames had a chance to do some damage, but lined out to short to end the threat. With another chance against closer Craig Kimbrel, the Brewers put men on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, but Luis Urias grounded out weakly to third to end the threat. Down a run, the Brewers had the tying run in scoring position in each of the last two innings, but couldn't push it across. Lauer takes the unfortunate loss and drops to 8-5 on the season. Game 4 -- Brewers 5, Dodgers 3 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208180.shtml With the Brewers needing a win to earn the split, Corbin Burnes takes the mound against Dodgers lefty Andrew Heaney. Andrew McCutchen started things off with a bang in the first inning, launching his twelfth homerun of the season. In the bottom of the third, with the game still 1-0 Crew, he did it again. The Crew added another two-spot in the fifth with a two run homer from Hunter Renfroe, his 21st of the season. The Brewers needed the offense today, as Burnes ran out of gas in the sixth. The Dodgers roughed him up a bit, pushing three runs across the plate before Brad Boxberger relieved him with two outs and got out of the inning. Taylor Rogers, Matt Bush, and Devin Williams handled the last three innings allowing just one walk from Bush, and Williams closed the door in the ninth, striking out the side. Burnes got the win to move to 9-5 on the season, and the Brewers got the much needed split with the very tough Dodgers squad. With the Brewers now hanging three games back of the Cardinals, the team heads to Chicago to take on the Cubs in a three game series. View full article

Taylor Rogers had allowed 1 HR this year before today.

Won't argue with that. He didn't have it at all today.

The Brewers aren't going to (and absolutely shouldn't) start burning the service clock on an 18 year old to play CF in a season in which he's 1) going to be horribly over-matched and 2) probably going to struggle to win the division anyways. Jackson Chourio isn't the difference between winning and losing the WS, so starting his service clock now would be a terrible and short-sighted decision.

Taylor Rogers isn't a Loogy. RHB have just over a .700 OPS off of him for his career, and (before today) like a .670 OPS vs him this season. It probably wasn't the right choice letting him face Pujols under the circumstances, but he's not a LOOGY.

Well.. there went the little bit of drama left in the top of the 9th.

What absolute difference does it make what position the player plays on where he bats in the lineup???

Yes, he's in a little bit of a slump lately. I think I'm trying to understand why him hitting leadoff *as the DH* is the big deal here. He's generally hit well at leadoff this year, and gotten on base at an above average clip, so I'm willing to give Counsell the benefit of the doubt here and let Yelich work through the little bit of a slump that he's in. Still not sure what being the DH today has to do with his spot in the order.

Why is the DH leading off absolutely stupid?