Jason Wang

A fifth-inning rally and the latest Devin Williams heroics secured the Brewers' seventh straight win Saturday night, as they inch closer to a division title. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 94 pitches, 59 strikes (62.8%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (.281), Devin Williams (.163), Freddy Peralta (.109) Bottom 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (-.138), Joel Payamps (-.062), Sal Frelick (-.054) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Freddy’s Flashiness Only Goes Five Everyone knows that Freddy Peralta is a strikeout pitcher. He’s got 17 more strikeouts than Corbin Burnes in 25 fewer innings, and twice as many as the next-closest pitcher on the Brewers (Colin Rea has 85). Aside from the somewhat concerning punchout numbers of the rest of the pitching staff, it’s clear that Peralta is the head honcho. Unfortunately, there are two downsides to this aggressive approach: high pitch counts and potentially giving up hard contact. Peralta suffered from both of these. While he recorded 17 swings and misses and nine strikeouts, his pitch count neared 100 before making it through the entire sixth inning, requiring him to be pulled. He also gave up a solo home run to Xander Bogaerts in the second inning. Nonetheless, it was another good day in the office for Peralta, and he continued his recent tear. In his last seven games, he’s sitting at an ERA of 2.85 and a WHIP of 0.98 over 41 innings pitched. Brewers Go For Five In The Fifth After being relatively quiet for the first four innings of the game, Milwaukee finally figured out Padres starter Pedro Avila. Andruw Monasterio hit the team’s third consecutive single of the inning to score Mark Canha and even the tally. Following a double steal by Monasterio and Tyrone Taylor that moved them to third and second bases, a throwing error by catcher Luis Campusano allowed Monasterio to score the team’s second run. Clearly shaken, Avila walked Christian Yelich and gave up a two-run double to William Contreras before departing the game. To make matters worse, a fielding error by Ben Gamel allowed Contreras to make it to third base. To continue the offensive rally, Carlos Santana hit an RBI double off Padres reliever Scott Barlow, who subsequently gave up two walks to load the bases. Due to this offensive outburst, the Brewers entered the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead. Payamps Helps Out The Padres Stepping in to pitch the eighth inning, Joel Payamps got off to a rough start, immediately giving up a single to Fernando Tatis Jr. and a two-run homer to Juan Soto. This brought the Padres within one run, but Payamps was able to retire the next three batters in order, preserving the team's narrow lead. With the game on the line, Devin Williams retired all three batters in the ninth inning and recorded his 31st save of the season, fifth in MLB and third in the NL. What’s Next? In the third and final game of the series, Adrian Houser will try to complete the sweep against Michael Wacha who will be making just his third start since returning from a month-long IL stint. The Brewers hold a 4.0 game lead over the Chicago Cubs and a 5.0 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Payamps 0 15 0 0 15 30 Uribe 0 10 0 19 0 29 Chafin 0 0 0 26 0 26 B Wilson 25 0 0 0 0 25 Megill 9 0 0 14 0 23 Peguero 0 0 0 0 23 23 Williams 0 0 0 0 14 14 Milner 12 0 0 0 0 12 Tweet Highlight View full article

Brandon Woodruff and Rowdy Tellez had their best performances since coming back from the injured list Friday night, as the Brewers hung a loss on a long-time nemesis and widened the NL Central lead. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 101 pitches, 71 strikes (70.3%) Home Runs: Rowdy Tellez (13) Top 3 WPA: Brandon Woodruff (.212), Rowdy Tellez (.120), Willy Adames (.087) Bottom 3 WPA: Carlos Santana (-.057), Andruw Monasterio (-.025), Andrew Chafin (.003) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Woodruff Wilds Out Like a diligent employee at your local casino, Brandon Woodruff absolutely dealt against the Padres, striking out 11 batters and giving up just one earned run. Topping out at 98.0 mph on his four-seam fastball, Woodruff simply left the Padres in the dust. His slider was also especially effective, garnering eight called strikes, one swinging strike, and five fouls. Other than a home run to Manny Machado, Woodruff was untouchable. This was his best performance since returning from the IL, and after a hefty 107-pitch workload, I think it’s safe to say that he’s reacclimated to the burdens of a big-league starter. Brewers Get Rowdy In The Third Milwaukee got the scoring started in a big way in the third inning. With two on, William Contreras singled, scoring Brice Turang and chasing Tyrone Taylor around to third base. Willy Adames followed up with a single of his own to score Taylor, continuing his hot hitting streak. To cap things off, Rowdy Tellez hit his first home run since returning from his IL stint, almost gifting a lucky fan with a new Toyota Sequoia. With this three-run homer, the Brewers pulled ahead to 5-0. In the seventh inning, Adames and Tellez would again hit back-to-back RBI singles to score the Brewers’ sixth and seventh runs, respectively. Uribe Continues To Dazzle - Chafin, Not So Much Despite giving up two singles to Jake Cronenworth and Garrett Cooper, Abner Uribe earned three strikeouts, flashing his incredible talent. With a sinker topping out at 100.9 mph and a slider with up to 37 inches of vertical break, is anyone really surprised? While he and Trevor Megill combined for five strikeouts and two scoreless relief innings, Andrew Chafin struggled in the ninth inning, hitting Jake Cronenworth with a pitch and promptly giving up a two-run home run to Gary Sanchez. Luckily he gave up just two earned runs which weren’t nearly enough to make up for the existing deficit, but his ERA and WHIP since joining the Brewers are 12.79 and 1.89 respectively. While pitching just 6 1/3 innings thus far, it’s not the rosiest picture, and he’ll likely be used in lower-leverage situations moving forward. What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will face Pedro Avila in the second game of the series. While Avila has an impressive ERA of just 1.17, he’s also made just one start and pitched a total of 23.0 innings. Peralta, on the other hand, is riding a hot streak of his own, posting a 2.38 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over his last seven games. The Milwaukee Brewers now have a 4.0 game lead over the Chicago Cubs and a 5.0 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Uribe 0 0 10 0 19 29 Chafin 0 0 0 0 26 26 B Wilson 0 25 0 0 0 25 Megill 0 9 0 0 14 23 Payamps 0 0 15 0 0 15 Milner 0 12 0 0 0 12 Peguero 0 0 0 0 0 0 Williams 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

sometimes u gotta zig while everyone else wants to zag

Joey Wiemer has shown off great defense and even greater hair thus far in his rookie year, but if he wants to continue adding value to the Brewers lineup, he’ll have to make some major adjustments at the plate. Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Ordinarily, a team wouldn't complain about 1.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) from a rookie center fielder, even if that value comes mostly from elite defense. The Brewers aren't good enough at the traditional offense-first positions to accept subpar production in center, though. They need Joey Wiemer to get right. So What, Exactly, Is The Problem? If you take a look at his slash line of .212/.289/.375, you’ll see a player with below-average hitting abilities. While that is certainly true (he has an OPS+ of 81), it doesn’t really tell the whole story. Only by looking at his Baseball Savant page can we begin to unpack the mystery at hand. When he’s able to make good contact, the ball is going places--often, places in the upper deck. Unfortunately, the ball doesn’t often go places other than the catcher’s glove. Wiemer has struggled immensely with swing-and-miss, preventing from putting more balls in play and making use of either his power or his considerable speed. He’s no Joey Gallo, but he still can’t seem to put his bat on pitches in the zone at a competitive rate. If you’ve watched him play this season, it’s pretty easy to see why. His swing is about as messy as the Chicago White Sox front office. There’s a lot going on here. While there are slight variations, his swing usually follows these general steps: He starts with the bat held high above his head, pretty typical stuff As the pitcher begins his windup, Wiemer often drops the bat to his shoulder. As the pitcher finishes his windup, Wiemer takes the bat off of his shoulder and drops it even lower, sometimes almost perpendicular to his body and below the beltline As the pitch comes to the plate, he loads up in his back leg, lifts his front leg, and raises his bat again, splitting the back of his head to prepare his follow-through. Within the span of roughly three seconds, Wiemer usually shifts his stance around four times and swings bat all over the place. This creates a lengthy, overly complex load. To his credit, despite the prolonged ritual, he’s been able to adjust his timing to create a positive run value against fastballs. However, this problem has gotten out of hand against breaking balls. Here are his statistics against the three breaking balls he’s seen most frequently this season. Run Value BA wOBA Whiff% K% Slider -8 .160 .221 37.4 28.3 Curveball -4 .217 .240 46.5 43.8 Sweeper -5 .083 .144 34.0 32.0 The numbers aren’t pretty, and they point to a clear issue. After seeming to figure things out in June and posting an .849 OPS for the month, he’s regressed significantly, and his August has been abysmal, featuring a .556 OPS over 38 at-bats. This is likely the result of more robust scouting reports on him, and the steady diet of breaking balls opposing pitchers have begun force-feeding him. How Did This Start? A quick perusal of his minor league highlights from 2022 shows a much calmer swing at the plate. While it’s still noisy compared to average, he moves much less than he does now at the major-league level. Most notably, he doesn’t seem to drop his bat as low. While we may never know for sure, one theory as to why he adopted this kooky practice could be that it was perceived as a necessary change to generate more power, leaning into his identity as a swing-first, ask-questions-later type of slugger. After clubbing six of his 13 homers in June, his hands seem to drop lower and lower to try and add more power, at the cost of more misses and more strikeouts. Is There Hope? The fact that this seemingly hasn’t been called out by the Brewers hitting staff as a possible issue is surprising, but it may be something the team is waiting to fix in the offseason. It’s a dramatic change, and with just a narrow lead over the rest of the NL Central, it’s admittedly risky to try to make any such tweaks now. On the bright side, there is one glimmer of hope that makes me optimistic. The parts of the strike zone that correspond to where he whiffs most are also where he makes some of his best contact. As a rookie, it's expected that his game is still unpolished. There's always room for improvement, and no one is perfect, but if Wiemer gets a little better at tracking breaking balls sooner and making contact in the middle part of the strike zone, he may just become one of the most dangerous hitters this side of the Mississippi. View full article

Drama in extra innings and a speedy run to first base capped off a competitive two-game series against the Minnesota Twins. Image courtesy of Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 99 pitches, 59 strikes (59.6%) Home Runs: William Contreras (13), Willy Adames (21), Tyrone Taylor (5) Top 3 WPA: Willy Adames, (.572), Brice Turang (.337), Tyrone Taylor (.168) Bottom 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (-.392), Elvis Peguero (-.299), Victor Caratini (-.126) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Corbin Gets Crushed In one of his rougher outings of the season, Burnes gave up runs in four different innings. He started the game by giving up three singles and a sacrifice fly, allowing the Twins to take a 1-0 lead. In the third inning, he gave up a two-run home run to Royce Lewis, his fifth of the season. The damage continued in the fifth inning when a double by Ryan Jeffers and a home run by Michael A. Taylor gave the Twins a 5-3 lead. To end his outing, Kyle Farmer hit a solo home run to score Minnesota’s sixth run of the game. So what happened? The main culprit was Burnes getting behind in counts. Often down 2-0, Burnes was forced to alter his pitch sequence to be more hitter-friendly, allowing a lot of hard contact and long balls. Corbin Burnes currently has a 3.65 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 158.0 innings pitched. Homer For Homer While the first game was decided by putting balls in play and hitting for contact, this game was a little different. To match Minnesota’s mashing tendencies, the Brewers hit three home runs of their own. William Contreras got the party started with a solo home run to center field that just kept carrying until it hit the seats. In the sixth inning, Willy Adames hit a two-run homer to center field and continued his recent offensive onslaught. He’s slashed .379/.419/.724 over his last seven games. Finally, to tie the game at six runs a piece, Tyrone Taylor hit a solo home run to left center field. Bullpen (Almost) Blows It After two lockdown innings by Abner Uribe and Joel Payamps that saw them combine for one hit and three strikeouts, Devin Williams toed the slab in the ninth inning to give the Brewers a chance to walk it off. Things started off shaky, with Williams issuing a walk to Jorge Polanco and hitting Matt Wallner with a pitch to put two runners on base before recording a single out. Fortunately, Williams got two strikeouts and a flyout to escape the inning unscathed. In the tenth inning, Elvis Peguero conceded a go-ahead single that put the Twins on top, 7-6. With the game on the line, all eyes fell on the Brewers offense. Willy Adames led things off with a game-tying single. After two outs, it seemed like the game would go into the eleventh until Brice Turang’s walk off one-run single allowed the Brewers to complete the sweep. Just barely beating out the throw to first, his speed was on full display. What’s Next? The Brewers will get an off-day before hosting the San Diego Padres in a three-game series. Brandon Woodruff will make the first start and the Brewers will aim to maintain their lead in the division. They are currently 3.0 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Megill 13 24 0 9 0 46 B Wilson 0 18 0 25 0 43 Milner 22 0 0 12 0 34 Peguero 0 29 0 0 0 29 Payamps 13 0 0 0 15 28 Uribe 4 0 0 0 10 14 Williams 0 3 0 0 0 3 Chafin 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

A great team hitting effort and remarkable relief pitching allows the Brewers to take the first game against a Midwest rival. Image courtesy of Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 89 pitches, 58 strikes (65.2%) Home Runs: Willy Adames (20) Top 3 WPA: Mark Canha (.221), William Contreras (.122), Bryse Wilson (.084) Bottom 3 WPA: Wade Miley (-.067), Carlos Santana (-.050), Joey Wiemer (-.039) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Miley Gives Up Three In Five Despite being one of the few teams that are worse than the Brewers at hitting lefties, the Twins did some damage to Wade Miley in the second and fourth innings of his start. In the second inning, Christian Vazquez hit just his fourth home run of the season to score himself and Kyle Farmer. After giving up a double to Jordan Luplow and a walk to Carlos Correa, Miley allowed Minnesota to pull ahead in the fourth inning after a one-run single by Kyle Farmer. As per usual, Wade Miley didn’t rely on blazing fast velocity (he topped out at 92.8 mph on his four-seam fastball) and earned just seven swinging strikes, but his command was excellent, walking just one while getting 17 called strikes. His ERA and WHIP currently stand at 3.18 and 1.17 over 87.2 innings pitched. Some Things Are Worth The Wait The Brewers offense started off quite slow but needed just one inning to seal the deal. They took the lead in the first following a home run to left center field by Willy Adames, putting the score at 2-0. Despite this early slip-up, Twins starter Bailey Ober kept Milwaukee scoreless through the remainder of his start, giving up just two hits and three walks in total. At a relatively low pitch count of 78, fans were surprised when the decision was made to go to the Minnesota bullpen. Unfortunately for Rocco Baldelli, this would be the wrong decision. The Brewers went on a hitting onslaught, tagging Dylan Floro for six hits and a stolen base. In what seemed like a revolving door at the plate, Milwaukee simply couldn’t stop putting balls in play. By the time the dust cleared, Floro had given up five earned runs and the score was now 7-3 in favor of the Brewers. It was a great offensive day for the Brewers and while the score wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, everyone in the lineup was able to get on base at least once, a rare sight for the team. Bullpen Gets It Done, Royce Slips Up To close out the final four innings of the game, Bryse Wilson pitched two innings while Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill pitched in the eighth and ninth innings respectively. The Twins didn’t put up much of a fight and perhaps the greatest highlight was Royce Lewis’s epic baserunning gaffe that crushed what little morale remained in the away dugout. After hitting a ball just past Carlos Santana at first base, it seemed like your usual single. However, after taking a hard turn towards second base, changing his mind, and slipping on his way back to first base, it was too late. Want to know how it was from the other side? Take a look at the game through a Twins lens with a recap from Twins Daily. What’s Next? In the second and final game of the series, Corbin Burnes will face Kenta Maeda. After losing both games against the Twins earlier in the year, the Brewers are seeking to even the score. Following this victory, the Brewers are 3.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs and 4.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Peguero 17 0 29 0 0 46 Megill 0 13 24 0 9 46 Milner 9 22 0 0 12 43 B Wilson 0 0 18 0 25 43 Chafin 19 0 0 0 0 19 Uribe 9 4 0 0 0 13 Payamps 0 13 0 0 0 13 Williams 9 0 3 0 0 12 Tweet Highlight View full article

In the biggest and most impressive statement of the season to date, the Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers and showed that they can dominate in all facets. Image courtesy of © Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 82 pitches, 53 strikes (64.6%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (.172), Christian Yelich (.107), Rowdy Tellez (.104) Bottom 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (-.132), Carlos Santana (-.115), Brice Turang (-.029) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Tosses Terrifically While by no means flawless, Adrian Houser’s five-inning start was an integral part of this victory. It seemed like he was starting to wobble in the third inning, but he was able to recover and avoid further damage after giving up a home run to Corey Seager and a double to Nathaniel Lowe. In addition to limiting runs, Houser was also able to strike out seven batters, earning seven swings and misses and 17 called strikes. His slider and sinker were particularly effective, relying more on exceptional command and placement than pure stuff and velocity. This continues a second-half upsweep in strikeout rate that bears watching. Houser currently has a 4.28 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP across 88.1 innings pitched. Brewers Beat Up On Scherzer and Smith Milwaukee started to get to work in the third inning, loading the bases with two walks and a single. Willy Adames sent the first runner home after getting hit by a pitch, and a Rowdy Tellez walk extended the Brewers' lead to 2-0. The scoring continued in the fourth, thanks to back-to-back doubles by Tyrone Taylor and Christian Yelich. Finally, the team made a statement in the eighth, plating three runners and putting the nail in the coffin for the Rangers against their usual closer, Will Smith. After a two-run triple by Tyrone Taylor, Carlos Santana hit a single and recorded his 10th RBI of the road trip. Big Bullpen Effort Trevor Megill, Elvis Peguero, Bryse Wilson, and Devin Williams combined for four innings of relief and gave up two hits and two walks. The origin plan seemed to involve Wilson wrapping things up, but after Marcus Semien and Corey Seager made it to first and third respectively, Williams came in for the final out. He recorded his 30th save of the season on just three pitches, as Nathaniel Lowe lined out to left field. What’s Next? The Brewers will get a day off to travel home to Milwaukee, before hosting the Minnesota Twins in a brief two-game series where Wade Miley will take the mound opposite Bailey Ober. Milwaukee maintains a three-game lead over the Chicago Cubs, and they stretched their advantage to four games over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Megill 17 0 0 13 24 54 Peguero 0 0 17 0 29 46 Chafin 22 0 19 0 0 41 Uribe 20 0 9 4 0 33 Payamps 0 19 0 13 0 32 Milner 0 0 9 22 0 31 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 18 18 Williams 0 0 9 0 3 12 Tweet Highlight View full article

Milwaukee narrowly avoids blowing a significant lead but do just enough to escape with the win against a tough competitor. Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 92 pitches, 63 strikes (68.5%) Home Runs: Carlos Santana (17) Top 3 WPA: Carlos Santana (.276), William Contreras (.237), Christian Yelich (.161) Bottom 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (-.120), Brandon Woodruff (-.112), Elvis Peguero (-.093) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Woodruff Cruises Until Fourth Despite facing a fearsome offense, Brandon Woodruff pitched well for the first three innings. The only baserunner he gave up was Marcus Semien who was able to draw a leadoff walk. The first time through the order he was, in every sense of the word, grooving. Things immediately went south in the fourth inning. A two-run home run by Nathaniel Lowe was followed by another home run by Mitch Garver to score the Rangers’ first three runs of the game. Although he retired the next five batters in a row and made it to the sixth inning, a double by Corey Seager, a pitch count approaching 100, and Adolis Garcia coming to the plate meant that it was time for the bullpen to step in. Hitting Heats Up While it may have seemed like an offensive mismatch heading into the game, the Brewers held their own when it came to scoring runs. Milwaukee hit three doubles in the third inning and a single to take a 3-0 lead. After the Rangers pulled ahead to a 4-3 lead heading into the seventh inning, Carlos Santana sent a ball into the right field seats to score three runs and retake the lead at 6-4. The Brewers kept it going in the eighth inning, loading the bases on two hits and an intentional walk of Christian Yelich. Contreras hit a two-run single to continue the onslaught and a Mark Canha groundout would allow another to score, bringing the Brewers lead to a dominant 9-4. At this point, the Brewers had a win probability of 98.4% and it seemed like a surefire win against a highly competitive opponent, but the Rangers were saving their best for last. Nail-Biter Of A Ninth Down by five runs, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance for Texas to comeback in front of their home crowd. Andrew Chafin took the mound and just needed to get three outs without taking too much damage. After a walk and a double placed two runners in scoring position, J.P. Martinez grounded out to score the first run of the inning. Ezequiel Duran slapped a pinch-hit double to score another run and the score was now 9-6. Not wanting to take more risks with Chafin, Devin Williams was brought in to get the last two outs. Travis Jankowski hit a double to score Duran and bring the lead to 9-7 before a wild pitch by Williams allowed him to advance to third. With just one out, Williams would have to face the top of the order, namely Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. Semien was relegated to a ground out but one that scored Jankowski and brought the tying runner to the plate. Seager hit a ball that threatened to tie the game but an incredible leap from Sal Frelick finally put an end to the comeback and gave Milwaukee the win. What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will duel Dane Dunning on the mound in the second game of the series. How Milwaukee performs against Texas could be a preview of how the team will stack up against playoff-caliber competition. The Brewers are currently 2.0 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and 3.0 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Chafin 0 0 22 0 19 41 Milner 0 22 0 0 9 31 Uribe 0 0 20 0 9 29 B Wilson 0 29 0 0 0 29 Payamps 0 0 0 19 0 19 Megill 0 0 17 0 0 17 Peguero 0 0 0 0 17 17 Williams 0 0 0 0 9 9 Tweet Highlight View full article

It’s been a few weeks since the 2023 MLB trade deadline. The Brewers were buyers, but have their new pickups been worthwhile additions? Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports The prices Matt Arnold paid for the players he acquired three weeks ago were reasonable. It's unlikely the Crew will regret the guys they allowed to get away very much, The bigger question is whether the new guys have actively made the team better. To discern the answer, let's take them one at a time. Santana’s Sad Slump What was supposed to be a power bat and valuable veteran presence hasn’t quite panned out the way the front office likely envisioned. While on the Pittsburgh Pirates, Carlos Santana was the team’s RBI leader and a serviceable first baseman. While nothing to write home about, he played strong defense and was about a league-average hitter. Since joining the Brewers, his offense has regressed significantly. The sample size of 68 plate appearances isn’t the most robust dataset, but it’s enough to start a discussion. For Milwaukee, he’s currently slashing .167/.191/.348. He isn’t hitting for average, and he sure as heck isn’t walking a ton, but interestingly, he's hitting with a decent amount of power. His ISO of .182 is above the league average, and is skewed by four of his 11 total hits with the team ending up in the seats. Nonetheless, his OPS of .540 is painfully poor, especially for a first baseman. Based on Win Probability Added, he’s hurt slightly more than he’s helped, posting a figure of -0.8, meaning he has cumulatively cost the team almost a full win. Currently on a rehab assignment in Triple A, erstwhile regular Rowdy Tellez hasn’t been much better, especially given the dip in competition. Across 34 plate appearances with the Nashville Sounds, he’s slashing .226/.294/.387 for an OPS of .681. He's heated up considerably over the last couple of days, though, so if his timing and his health are now back, maybe that's the solution to this problem. Considering they have no top-level first base prospects and that this continues to be a major hole in the team’s lineup, expect some offseason moves to bolster the position. In the meantime, whenever Tellez returns, he and Santana could need to share the first base playing time to some extent, rather than each being a full-timer with Tellez at DH. Canha Can Get On Base… And Not Much Else At the very least, Mark Canha is somewhat fulfilling his expected role of getting on base. He’s also seen a regression in every part of his slash line since arriving from the Mets, posting figures of .213/.283/.340, but it hasn’t been quite as bad as Santana’s performance. Furthermore, given some clutch moments like his go-ahead double in extra innings against the Chicago White Sox, his win probability added is 0.5, higher than his figure of 0.1 with the Mets. It’s a small sample of 53 plate appearances, but there are things to be optimistic about. He’s struck out only four times, and in his last seven games, he’s posted an .865 OPS with five RBI. His defensive shortcomings are more than compensated for by the Brewers’ excellent fielding depth. His food blog claims he’s loving the food in Milwaukee so far. I think there are positive vibes only for Canha, and his performance should see an uptick in the near future. Failed Starter to Failed Reliever? To call Andrew Chafin’s time in the Milwaukee bullpen a failure is an exaggeration, given that he’s pitched just five innings, the same length as your average Wade Miley start. Unfortunately, his 7.20 ERA and 1.40 WHIP leave much to be desired. His ugly outing on Aug. 8 against the Colorado Rockies saw him give up three earned runs in extra innings to allow the Rockies to pull away with a 7-3 lead. In these five innings, he’s only given up two hits, but one of them was a home run, and he has also recorded the same number of walks as he has strikeouts (five). It’s clear there are some control issues that weren’t as prevalent in Arizona, as his strikeout-to-walk ratio has gone from 2.72 to 1.00, but again, this is a sample size of minute proportions. We’ll probably need more data to pass proper educated judgment on Chafin’s value to the team, but if he’s able to fix his problems, he might be a dangerous lefty weapon to help record key outs late into games. View full article

Unable to face the pressure of 40,000 fans munching on Dodger Dogs, the Brewers seemed to roll over against the Dodgers Wednesday night. If the real game is the friends we met along the way, though, then at least they bumped into an old one. Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 82 pitches, 54 strikes (65.9%) Home Runs: Mark Canha (7) Top 3 WPA: Mark Canha (.073), Andruw Monasterio (.049), William Contreras (.046) Bottom 3 WPA: Wade Miley (-.230), Sal Frelick (-.135), Carlos Santana (-.122) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Miley Gets Hit Around, Contreras Keeps Interfering In his first start at Dodger Stadium since game 5 of the 2018 NLCS, Wade Miley made it through five innings while taking a little bit of damage on the way. In the first inning, after a walk and a single, a catcher interference call on Contreras loaded the bases with just one out. A groundout by Amed Rosario was enough to put the Dodgers on the board, but Miley was able to get Max Muncy to ground out for the third out. In the second inning, he gave up a solo home run to Miguel Rojas, and Los Angeles scored again after yet another instance of catcher’s interference in a bases-loaded situation brought the score to 3-1. The final run we conceded came by way of a Will Smith sacrifice fly in the fourth. Despite taking the loss, Miley’s outing was satisfactory, and he continues to be remarkably consistent given his relatively old age and low velocity. He’s currently at a 3.05 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP over 82 ⅔ innings pitched this season. Mark Mashes a Homer But Not Much Else Like the first game in the series, things started off pretty well for Milwaukee. To lead off the second inning, Mark Canha hammered a home run into left field to tie the game at 1-1. It was his first homer since joining the Brewers, and a pleasant surprise, given his relative lack of power throughout this season. Also like the first game of the series, there wasn’t much else that the Brewers could muster. Totaling just three hits and three walks in nine innings, the offense simply couldn’t get started. The Return Of Gus Varland One interesting thing that did happen in this game was the lineup facing off against Gus Varland for two innings. After making the Brewers' Opening Day roster this season, Varland performed well in his first seven appearances, totaling eight innings and posting a cumulative 2.25 ERA. After an outing on May 15 against the St. Louis Cardinals that saw him give up nine earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning, his ERA inflated to 11.42, leading to him being designated for assignment the next day. After clearing waivers, he returned to the Dodgers organization, where he has spent most of the season in Triple A. This game was his first major-league appearance for them, and he pitched two innings, giving up just one walk and striking out three of his old teammates. What’s Next? In the final game of the series, Corbin Burnes will face off against Lance Lynn. The Brewers have struggled to pose a significant threat to the Dodgers throughout this whole series, but they might have a chance against Lynn. He’s currently got the second-worst ERA of all qualified pitchers (5.88). Milwaukee is 2.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds for the lead in the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Milner 17 0 0 22 0 39 Chafin 0 15 0 0 22 37 Uribe 0 10 0 0 20 30 B Wilson 0 0 0 29 0 29 Megill 0 0 0 0 17 17 Williams 15 0 0 0 0 15 Peguero 4 0 0 0 0 4 Payamps 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Like a retired MMA fighter now relegated to YouTube boxing, the Brewers put up an anemic offensive performance to kick off their three-game series against the surging Los Angeles Dodgers. Image courtesy of © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 75 pitches, 57 strikes (76.0%) Home Runs: Carlos Santana (16) Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.024), Brian Anderson (-.007), Bryse Wilson (-.009) Bottom 3 WPA: Hoby Milner (-.128), Adrian Houser (-.117), Tyrone Taylor (-.058) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Just Can’t Get Through Six One Thing Adrian Houser has struggled to do this season is make quality starts. It hasn’t been an issue of giving up too many runs in his outings but rather one of not pitching enough to be eligible for the accolade. Of his 15 starts this season, only five have lasted six or more innings. Tuesday was no different. After retiring the Dodgers lineup in order the first time through, he finally allowed his first two baserunners in the fourth inning before sitting down the heart of the order in Will Smith, Max Muncy, and J.D. Martinez. He gave up a single and a double in the fifth inning, with a weak groundout finally plating the first Dodger, but heading into the sixth inning, his pitch count was reasonable. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t keep it up. With Houser facing the heart of the order for the third time, Smith reached on an error, Muncy hit a single, and Martinez hit a run-scoring double. With the game still close, Craig Counsell pulled Houser and replaced him with Hoby Milner. O Bullpen, Where Art Thou? Following Houser’s departure, the Brewers needed two more outs, and Milner was tasked with facing the bottom of the order. Alas, an Enrique Hernandez single scored another two runs, and two more singles by James Outman and Miguel Rojas scored Hernandez. Having given up three hits and three runs while recording just a single out, Milner was replaced by Bryse Wilson who inherited runners on first and second. He gave up a single to Mookie Betts, but kept the Dodgers from scoring in the seventh and eighth innings, taking on a lengthier relief appearance to spare the rest of the bullpen. Bobby Outduels The Brew Crew Milwaukee got off to a strong start, with a Christian Yelich single and a William Contreras walk putting the leadoff man in scoring position. A flyout by Carlos Santana and a groundout by Sal Frelick allowed Yelich to score the team’s first run, but it was all downhill after that. In a monumental performance, Dodgers starter Bobby Miller retired the next 18 batters in a row. While he only struck out four, the Brewers lineup couldn’t manage more than weak grounders and shallow flyouts. In the final three innings, Ryan Yarbrough was brought in to close out the game after the Dodgers had taken a commanding 6-1 lead. Carlos Santana did his best to close the gap by hitting a leadoff home run in the seventh, but even this 442-foot solo shot wasn’t nearly enough to make up for lost time. It would be the second and final Brewers’ hit. What’s Next? Trusty lefty Wade Miley will toe the slab opposite familiar foe Clayton Kershaw. When it comes to facing lefties, the Dodgers and the Brewers are worlds apart. While LA has posted an .807 OPS against left-handed pitching this season (third in MLB), the Brewers have a .694 OPS (23rd in MLB). While this is an improvement from earlier in the season (when they were even closer to the bottom), it’s still a ways away from being enough to beat one of the best lefties of this generation. Despite the loss, the Brewers are still 3.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds for the lead in the NL Central. FanGraphs reports the team as having a 69.5% chance to win the division and an 83.5% chance to make the playoffs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Milner 0 17 0 0 22 39 Mejia 0 0 30 0 0 30 Williams 14 15 0 0 0 29 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 29 29 Peguero 21 4 0 0 0 25 Uribe 10 0 10 0 0 20 Payamps 18 0 0 0 0 18 Chafin 0 0 15 0 0 15 Tweet Highlight View full article

What about Albert Pujols? The most recent recipient of the NL award was just plain lackluster for several years before having a monstrous 2022 and a wonderful sendoff.

they obviously sold their souls to the same guy

For the past four years, Brewers fans have been awaiting the return of their king, Christian Yelich. After what has seemed like an eternity, the numbers seem to point to a potential re-attainment of glory for the face of the franchise. Image courtesy of © Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports The Dark Ages After posting an OPS over 1.000 for the second season in a row in 2019, something tragic happened. Yes, there was some sort of pandemic that swept through the world, but more importantly, it seemed that Christian Yelich forgot what had made him great. Over 247 plate appearances in 2020, he slashed just .205/.356/.430 for a measly OPS of .786, only slightly above league average. Perhaps this was due to the shortened season or jitters over the public health emergency, but the scary scenes continued through the following two seasons. His hitting slipped even further in 2021 and 2022, posting consistent yet disappointing OPS figures of .736 and .738. His ability to hit cutters and breaking balls seemed to be lost in time, and since his defense wasn’t nearly good enough to justify his $215 million contract, it was an unfortunate time to be a Brewers fan. Counterpoint: Why Cody Bellinger is the Comeback Player of the Year The beginning of this season was shaping up to be more of the same, with Yelich posting a somewhat dismal .656 OPS through April. Then he had a great May, posting a .842 OPS. Then he had an even better June, posting a .912 OPS. Then he fully turned back the clock in July, slashing .333/.389/.626 for an OPS of 1.015. It was too late to be an all-star but timely enough to keep the Brewers’ playoffs alive in a tight division race. So what changed? Adjustments to his Approach One of the primary culprits for his regression was the devastating knee injury he suffered in September 2019. After fouling a slider straight into his knee, it was revealed that Yelich had fully fractured his kneecap and would miss the remainder of the season. Despite returning to competition the following season, it was clear his approach had changed. While subtle, he seemed to take a slightly longer windup, loading more into his back leg. Prior to the injury, Yelich had a relatively neutral load, whereas his most recent load is more intense, akin to Bryce Harper's approach. 4A04F430-D2A1-4926-BABA-697017018A14 (1).mp4 Parker Hageman (@HagemanParker), cofounder of Twins Daily and overall pretty smart guy, helped me break down why this new swing could have had such negative effects. The two main downsides are a more delayed reaction and a potential reduction in vision as he rotates his center line further away from the pitching mound. Both could be to blame for his increase in swinging strikes and decline in pull rate as a result of being late to pitches more often. The more general numbers back up this hypothesis, as he never saw a significant decrease in exit velocity, and balls that he did hit were some of the hardest hit in the league. From 2019 to 2021, he took the biggest steps back in xISO (97th percentile in 2019, 27th percentile in 2021), Barrel % (97th percentile in 2019, 42nd percentile in 2021), and Strikeout % (60th percentile in 2019, 32nd percentile in 2021). This year, those figures are above league average, with his xISO moving to the 61st percentile, his Barrel % to the 57th percentile, and his Strikeout % to the 56th percentile. This year, he seems to be starting his load earlier to compensate for the more drastic coil, allowing him to generate positive run value on all pitches except the sweeper. The Other Man Unfortunately for Yelich, there’s some stiff competition for this award. One name, in particular, is a familiar foe who happened to beat out Yelich for the NL MVP award in 2019: Cody Bellinger. While Yelich regressed to post average hitting statistics, Bellinger skidded below replacement level in 2021, slashing .165/.240/.302 for an OPS of .542. Two years after his monstrous 2019 season, this saw him post a 1.035 OPS while leading the National League in total bases. 2022 saw a slight recovery, but Bellinger was still at a .654 OPS, a far cry from his peak. Hoping a change of scenery would revitalize his career, he took his talents to the Chicago Cubs and has found his groove again, slashing .331/.380/.561 and serving as the team’s best-qualified hitter. Unfortunately, he’s still suffering from injuries and missed a month of action due to a left knee contusion. Furthermore, he missed a few days for the birth of his second child, proving his lack of commitment to the team and the sport. His devotion to his family can only have a detrimental effect on his baseball career in the medium to long term. While Yelich has a slightly lower OPS, this can be explained by his more pitcher-friendly home ballpark and a larger sample size of ABs. As he is currently childless, his lack of engagements off the field will also allow him to focus purely on baseball and may make a more compelling case for this comeback being more permanent. Future Outlook His current slash line of .290/.374/.469 doesn’t present the most outstanding figures in the National League, and his August is off to a relatively slow start (.714 OPS over 38 ABs). Still, his red-hot June and July and his overall positive trajectory lead me to think that Yelich might have one of the most compelling quantitative and qualitative cases for being the NL Comeback Player of the Year. He's competing against his old friend Bellinger to make things even more interesting. Could we ask for a more perfect comeback storyline? View full article