Eye Black

Why in the world does Burnes continually try to kick ground balls behind him with his heel. I’m sure it’s just a reaction, but it cost him runs in the 1st inning, and would’ve been a disaster again there if he would’ve been close enough to make contact with it.

The chart they showed of Kuhl and other pitchers all-time that have dominated the Brewers included Jerry Reuss. I remember the Brewers trading for Reuss when he was 40 years old seemingly because of how good he’d been against them. So maybe in dozen years from now they’ll trade for an over the hill Chad Kuhl.

They’ve literally hit just one ball hard the entire game so far. I certainly wouldn’t advocate for removing him at this point, that would be awful for the bullpen to have to cover 7+ innings today.

Jace Peterson looks like an absolutely horrible right fielder.

From Haudricourt... Stearns on Strickland: "We’re looking to get him back to what he was doing in Tampa and hopefully have that kind of success here. We'll talk with him when he gets here and pick his brain a little bit. We have some ideas. We’ll talk with him and go from there."

It would certainly be nice if the Brewers could make up for some of the previous outings this season where Burnes has received no run support.

That inning sucked. Every one of the Pirates balls put in play were below average exit velocity.

Not a great start for Burnes to have thrown 12 pitches without an out and runners at the corners. EDIT: What a complete disaster.

The game starts in an hour and the Pirates still haven’t released a lineup yet. That seems strange. EDIT: Lineup now available and added to second post above.

Via Will Sammon: Tyrone Taylor's injury was a freak accident, Counsell said. Felt it playing catch pregame yesterday, couldn't take BP. Counsell said it was relatively minor, though.

Via Will Sammon: Tyrone Taylor's injury was a freak accident, Counsell said. Felt it playing catch pregame yesterday, couldn't take BP. Counsell said it was relatively minor, though. Just regular days off for Avisaíl García (on his birthday!) and Luis Urías, Counsell said.

Per the Brewers: 3B Travis Shaw transferred to the 60-day injured list.

From Halo Hangout two days ago when Strickland was DFA’d: Newly acquired relief pitcher for the LA Angels, Hunter Strickland, was designated for assignment on Monday. Strickland was traded for on May 15th from the Tampa Bay Rays. He was having a career year. In 13 games for the Rays, he had a 1.69 ERA. With the Angels, he’s had a 9.95 ERA in nine games. It was hard to see it coming, but at the same time, this is who Strickland is. Hunter Strickland has been a very inconsistent pitcher throughout his career. I’d love to act like Strickland will be back, and just needs a fresh look and chance to develop in the minors. The reality is, though, that we’ve seen Strickland have too many ups and downs during his career to bet on anything around his performance. He was a really impressive pitcher from 2014 to 2017, but didn’t look like his usual self in 2018, almost sporting a 4.00 ERA (3.97). His ERA in the previous four years was 2.64. Taking a step back in 2018, he took another in 2019, recording a 5.55 ERA. In 2020, he only pitched in four games (3.1 innings), and gave up three earned runs. 2020 was the most random and irrelevant year in baseball history, but Strickland still didn’t do anything to rid himself of the regressing pitcher he looked like he was becoming. Then in 2021, he started so strong, only to fall so hard. I’m rooting for Hunter Strickland, but it’s hard to place faith on a pitcher who’s been so inconsistent throughout his career. If Strickland plays to his potential, he’s an excellent reliever with tons of playoff experience and two rings to show for it. He’s also dealt with a lot this year, receiving coaching from three different pitching coaches this season alone.

Per the Brewers Twitter account: RHP Hunter Strickland acquired from the Angels in exchange for cash. Here is his Baseball-Reference page: Hunter Strickland

I’m not sure which is worse, the lineup or the Brewers social media team’s misspelling of Adames. My first reaction to the lineup is I hope Urias and Garcia aren’t injured from that seemingly minor collision yesterday.

The Brewers currently have the 3rd best winning percentage (.571) in the National League behind only the Giants (.629) and Dodgers (.603). They are tied with the Cubs who are also at .571, and the Padres are an identical 9 games over .500, but have a .569 winning percentage.

Corbin Burnes: Batter (Pirates) vs Pitching Stats Chad Kuhl: Batter (Brewers) vs Pitching Stats Statcast Game Preview for Pirates-Brewers Statcast Game Feed for Pirates-Brewers

Especially considering he has a career .281 batting average with the bases loaded (77 plate appearances), and has two triples, and two grand slams. First time the Pirates had 3 straight bases loaded walks since April of 1984. This guy is an encyclopedia of knowledge!!! Either that or he has a nerdy intern who’s good with a computer and the interweb.... Probably the second one... Meanwhile back on the Brewers broadcast, Tim Dillard is just making up random fake stats during the between half inning segment.

Especially considering he has a career .281 batting average with the bases loaded (77 plate appearances), and has two triples, and two grand slams.

Yelich with a chance for a memorable at bat.

Holmes has been really good this season over 27.1 IP coming into tonight (just 9 walks and 8 runs allowed). Looks like his command is a little shaky at the moment.

They took him out after 80 pitches to manage his innings, and the Padres scored almost immediately haha They announced deGrom left the game with a finger injury (right flexor tendonitis).

Of course it will be Ben Gamel that haunts the Brewers this weekend.

Well an 8 pitch first inning is a good start. Also, is it considered a jinx if you type it before the game even starts?