Jason Wang

No one is perfect, and despite all of their dazzling qualities, even the best athletes in the world are flawed--especially those who play baseball in Milwaukee. It’s been far from a perfect season, and pretty much everyone on the team has seen ups and downs, so let’s see some of their numbers that have been lagging behind the rest of the league. Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports Christian Yelich - Run Value Against the Sweeper 2023 Sweeper RV: -2 2022 Sweeper RV: -1 The sweeper is not a new pitch, although it is a new classification. Until this season, the pitch shape of sliders could have high vertical or horizontal break. In an effort to clarify between the two since they are very different pitches, the “sweeper” title is used to refer to horizontally moving sliders. Yelich has always been league-average or worse at hitting this pitch, but one particularly interesting statistic I found is that he has not recorded a single hit on a sweeper all season. He’s seen 75 of them total and has a single walk, giving him an impressive wOBA of .064 against the pitch. William Contreras - Run Value Against the Changeup 2023 Changeup RV: -3 2023 Changeup RV: 2 Contreras has greatly improved at hitting the four-seam fastball and the slider since last year, but performance against off-speed pitches has suffered. He’s been able to record a few hits, posting a .176 BA and .176 SLG, but he whiffs 40.6 percent of the time. Similarly, he has a -3 run value against the sinker but at least he’s putting those pitches into play. He whiffs just 22.4% of the time against the sinker. Owen Miller - Max Exit Velocity 2023 Max EV: 107.5 (30th percentile) 2022 Max EV: 109.1 mph (50th percentile) Owen Miller is great at many things--defense, avoiding strikeouts, and defense. However, hitting baseballs with extreme prejudice is not one of his skills. Because of his relatively low exit velocity, many of his other power stats, including xSLG (22nd percentile), Barrel % (10th percentile), and Hard Hit % (14th percentile), are dragged down. While this season has brought into question whether one needs power to be an effective hitter (ahem, Luis Arraez), Miller isn’t making enough contact to compensate for his lack of pop, posting a perfectly league-average 100 OPS+. Willy Adames - Average Exit Velocity 2023 Average EV: 86.7 mph (12th percentile) 2023 Average EV: 88.9 mph (48th percentile) Adames has a more interesting batted-ball profile, having a max exit velocity of 109.8 mph, good enough to place him in the 69th percentile. [Ed. note: Nice.] However, it seems that his profile is hurt by his inability to make good contact consistently. Statcast puts batted balls into six different categories, three good and three bad. Some 61.2 percent of Adames’s batted balls are in the soft contact categories, helping to partially explain why his good max exit velocity figure is being offset in the average figure. Brian Anderson - Run Value Against the Four-Seam Fastball 2023 4SFB RV: -6 2022 4SFB RV: 2 Brian Anderson has been striking out a lot this season, partially because he’s been getting destroyed by the most popular pitch in baseball. He’s seen the pitch 417 times and still hasn’t found a way to catch up to it this season. He’s striking out 33.0% of the time and whiffing 33.7% of the time, not the greatest recipe for success. On the bright side, when he does hit it, he hits it hard, notching a 48.3% hard-hit rate on batted balls. Joey Wiemer - Whiff % 2023 Whiff %: 34.1% (8th percentile) Joey Wiemer swings for the fences. Unfortunately, Joey Wiemer also swings and misses a lot. He’s pretty much whiffing on every pitch, but is getting crushed by the curveball, where he has a 42.9 % strikeout rate and a 44.2 % whiff rate. Furthermore, and similarly to Yelich, he also has not recorded a hit on any of the 66 sweepers he’s seen this season, and also does not have a walk, giving him a grand total wOBA of .000 against the pitch. He also whiffs 36.1% of the time. Rowdy Tellez - Sprint Speed 2023 Sprint Speed: 23.3 ft/second (2nd percentile) 2022 Sprint Speed: 23.8 ft/second (1st percentile) This seems almost unfair, but after an offhanded locker-room comment earlier this season where Tellez stated that he could beat Luke Voit in a race, I haven’t stopped thinking about Rowdy’s wheels. They’re not great. Like Daniel Vogelbach, I imagine he wasn’t too concerned about the bigger bases or pickoff attempt limits heading into this season. Brice Turang - xwOBA 2023 xwOBA: .266 (2nd percentile) xwOBA is a refinement of wOBA, which is itself a refinement of OBP and OPS. wOBA essentially suggests that weighting walks and hits by total bases is inaccurate, as a single is worth slightly more than a walk (can advance runners) and a double isn’t really worth two singles, etc. xwOBA is just wOBA, but uses metrics like exit velocity and launch angle to determine whether a batted ball would’ve been a hit and is meant to be independent of individual defensive plays. TL;DR, a 2nd percentile xwOBA essentially means that Brice Turang is not a great hitter. With a .580 OPS (59 OPS+), it’s clear he isn’t quite ready to compete at a big-league level with the bat. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Brewers fans, Miller is pretty much stuck at first base given the current injured list, and Milwaukee doesn’t have any players screaming to take his spot at second base. View full article

The Brewers made 10 more picks on the third day of the draft, acquiring nine pitchers and a shortstop. With most of their high school picks having already committed to great college baseball programs, expect some or most of these players to show up again in future draft classes. Image courtesy of © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK Bishop Letson (RHP) - Picked 332nd Overall A pitcher out of Floyd Central High School in Indiana and a current commit to Purdue University, he comes with a lanky, 6 '4 170-pound frame. Reported to have a fastball in the low 90s to go along with a slider and a developing changeup, Letson is one of many long-term projects selected in this portion of the draft. Here's portion of MLB.com’s scouting report, where he was ranked 179th overall. Bjorn Johnson (LHP) - Picked 362nd Overall Johnson is a lefty from Lincoln High School in Washington who is currently committed to play at Auburn. With a 6‘3", 200-pound frame, he's already big and physical, but could still fill out and add some velocity. His repertoire includes a sinker in the low 90s, a changeup, and a curveball. Brett Wichrowski (RHP) - Picked 392nd Overall Wichroski is a 20-year-old from Bryan University who made seven starts and seven relief appearances in his most recent season, posting a 4.50 ERA and 1.48 WHIP over 50 innings. Hayden Robinson (EHP) - Picked 422nd Overall A recent graduate from Berwick High School in Louisiana, Robinson has committed to Nicholls State University. He is six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, but could get bigger and stronger as he matures, whether that be in pro ball or college. Josh Adamczewski (SS) - Picked 452nd Overall Adamczewski recently graduated from Lake Central High School in Indiana (a hotbed for the Brewers this year). He's six feet tall and 190 pounds. The final position player taken by the Brewers, he’s shown to be an adroit lefty hitter. He committed to Ball State University last year. Josh Timmerman (RHP) - Picked 482nd Overall Timmerman is a 6’4", 195-pound righty from Ohio State University where he recently completed his first season. He posted an 8.75 ERA and 1.732 WHIP over 23 2/3 innings pitched. He performed much better in the Cape Cod League this summer, posting a 2.00 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 18 innings pitched. The Brewers might have spotted something there to make them believe that Timmerman has turned a corner, and that they can unlock even more with him. Jacob Gholston (RHP) - Picked 512th Overall With an imposing (if slender) 6‘6", 200-pound frame, Gholston is from Flower Mound High School in Texas. Currently committed to the University of Oklahoma, it is already reported that he has decided to attend the university and forgo signing with the Brewers organization. It's possible the Brewers took him as a fallback option, should some combination of dominoes fall and leave them with an unexpected surplus of bonus pool money left to spend. That's unlikely to actually happen, but teams often hedge this way near the end of the draft. Here's some of MLB.com’s scouting report, where he was ranked 181st overall. Dylan Watts (RHP) - Picked 542nd Overall Dylan Watts is a 6’2", 180-pound pitcher from Tacoma Community College in Washington. In his freshman season, he had a mind-blowing 0.23 ERA over 38 1/3 innings pitched in two starts and 12 relief appearances. Isaac Morton (RHP) - Picked 572nd Overall Morton is a 6‘2", 189-pound prep righty from Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota. He is currently committed to Texas A&M and possesses a strong fastball with a developing changeup and cutter. Justin Chambers (LHP) - Picked 602nd Overall Chambers is a 6’2", 212-pound lefty from Basha High School in Arizona. He recently committed to Washington State University. View full article

The All-Star Break is a perfect time to look back and reflect on how the Brewers have been doing thus far. Players can have hot and cold streaks, but a sample size of 91 games should be enough to fairly evaluate where they stand. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite facts and figures for each of Milwaukee’s qualified position players. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Christian Yelich - Outs Above Average 2023 OAA: 3 (85th percentile) 2022 OAA: -5 (12th percentile) Christian Yelich isn’t quite a defensive mastermind. He won his only Gold Glove with the Marlins back in 2014, and has made himself known for his abilities at the plate, not in the outfield. That being said, he’s made significant improvements this year, jumping from bottom to top quartile in terms of outs above average. He’s still got a ways to go defensively, posting -1 defensive run saved and a -0.4 dWAR, but it’s trending in the right direction. Yelich is showing signs of the bounce-back season we’ve all been waiting for, and it’s not just as a hitter, but as a complete baseball player. William Contreras - Catcher Framing Runs 2023 CFR: 5 (68th percentile) 2022 CFR: -3 (20th percentile) When Contreras was acquired this offseason, he was valued more for his bat than his glove. Fortunately, the Brewers' catching lab quickly got to work, and we saw him develop (similar to his predecessor, Omar Narvaez) into a more well-rounded catcher. There are still some weak parts of the zone where his framing is below league-average, but he’s made strides in his ability to frame low pitches, particularly. In the same vein, Contreras currently boasts 6 blocks above average, a marked improvement over last year’s figure of -1. Owen Miller - Outs Above Average 2023 OAA: 6 (95th percentile) 2022 OAA: 6 (91st percentile) Owen Miller has been remarkably consistent over his brief three-year tenure in the major leagues. An extremely versatile player who has taken the field as pretty much every position, Miller’s biggest contribution to the team has been his offense. While he’s just as strong as he was last year, his defense at second base is much better than what Milwaukee had last year in Kolten Wong. In 246 innings thus far, he’s posted five outs above average at second base, compared with Wong’s -10 outs above average in 2022. While he’s currently signed to a short-term deal, he’s proven to be a valuable member of the major-league roster thus far. Willy Adames - Base on Balls % 2023 BB%: 9.7% (65th percentile) 2022 BB%: 7.9% (47th percentile) Adames isn’t having the greatest offensive season in 2023, posting a .710 OPS (93 OPS+), and while he’s regressed in terms of batting average and power, his ability to draw walks has compensated for the dip. In 2022, he struggled with balls on the lower inside part of the zone, but he’s become elite at drawing walks on all four corners of the zone in 2023. While he is hitting the ball with less power and consistency than last year, at least he’s still getting on base. Brian Anderson - Arm Strength 2023 Max Throw Velocity: 101.9 mph (99th percentile) 2022 Max Throw Velocity: 97.7 mph (99th percentile) Splitting time between the outfield and the hot corner, Brian Anderson has his work cut out before being considered elite in most traditional categories. However, he undoubtedly has one of the strongest throwing arms in the game. Ranked fifth of all position players for average throw velocity and sixth in maximum velocity, there’s an alternate reality where he’s a flame-throwing closer instead of a league-average hitter. Joey Wiemer - Max Exit Velocity 2023 Max EV: 111.9 mph (78th percentile) America’s rookie hits the ball extremely hard and has a great hairdo. What more is there to say? Wiemer’s power bat doesn’t find the ball that often, but when it does, it usually leaves the stadium. Rowdy Tellez - Whiff % 2023 Whiff %: 20.9% (73rd percentile) 2022 Whiff %: 23.8% (55th percentile) For someone with one of the best max exit velocities in the sport (114.8 mph, 95th percentile), one might expect Tellez to have a chaotic swing, but he’s better than most at swinging effectively. While he’s not great against breaking balls (but who is?), his 9.9% whiff rate on fastballs is much better than last year’s figure of 17.7%. Interestingly enough, while he whiffs on the sinker just 6.2% of the time (the lowest of all pitches against him), it is also his worst pitch, posting a -6 run value for this season. Brice Turang - Sprint Speed 2023 Sprint Speed: 29.5 feet/second (96th percentile) Turang is speedier than most, making it from home to first base in just 4.18 seconds, just 0.04 seconds slower than speed demon and divisional rival Elly De La Cruz. While his speed hasn’t quite been utilized for stealing bases, snagging just nine bags thus far, his natural ability may be enough to be a baserunning threat in the future. View full article

im having so much fun mlb should do the draft twice a year just so we can have more coverage

The Brewers made eight more picks on the second day of the 2023 MLB Draft, acquiring six pitchers and two position players to set up the future of the farm system. Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Eric Bitonti (SS) - Picked 87th Overall A shortstop out of Aquinas High School in California, the 17-year old received positive reception from scouts. He demonstrated plus power and arm strength. The slot value of the 87th overall pick was $796,200. Here's a snippet of MLB.com’s scouting report, where he was ranked 68th overall. As for his defense, here's a portion of Baseball America’s scouting report, where he was ranked 59th overall: Jason Woodward (RHP) - Picked 119th Overall A pitcher from Florida Gulf Coast University, he was unranked by MLB and Baseball America. He was picked earlier than expected, especially given his relatively recent Tommy John surgery. In his most recent season with FGCU, he posted a 1.32 ERA and 0.95 WHIP but in a small sample of just 13 2/3 innings. The slot value of the 119th overall pick was $557,900. Ryan Birchard (RHP) - Picked 155th Overall A pitcher from Niagara County Community College, Birchard was also unranked by MLB and Baseball America. In his last season with NCCC, he posted a 1.88 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings pitched. The slot value of the 155th overall pick was $392,700. Cooper Pratt (SS) - Picked 182nd Overall Hailing from Magnolia Heights High School in Mississippi, Pratt was ranked somewhat highly as a shortstop. A well-rounded prospect, he showed off strong skills in almost all parts of his game. The slot value of the 182nd overall pick was $309,900. MLB.com ranked him 45th overall, praising his defensive upside. Baseball America was slightly less bullish overall, ranking him 63rd, but their scouting report hints at his offensive upside. Tate Kuehner (LHP) - Picked 212th Overall A lefty from the University of Louisville, Kuehner posted a respectable 3.99 ERA and 1.278 WHIP over 38 1/3 innings, primarily being used as a reliever but also making two starts. He was unranked by both MLB.com and Baseball America. The slot value of the 212th overall pick was $242,400. Craig Yoho (RHP) - Picked 242nd Overall Craig Yoho is a pitcher from Indiana University who posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.405 WHIP coming out of the bullpen in the 2023 season across 37 innings. He was also an unranked prospect. The slot value of the 242nd overall pick was $196,700. Mark Manfredi (LHP) - Picked 272nd Overall Manfredi is a lefty from the University of Dayton who made 15 starts this past season and posted a 5.67 ERA to go along with a 1.374 WHIP. He was also an unranked prospect. The slot value of the 272nd overall pick was $176,700. Morris Austin (RHP) - Picked 302nd Overall A right-handed pitcher from Houston Christian University, Austin posted a 9.00 ERA with a 1.778 WHIP over 9.0 innings coming out of the bullpen. Over the 44 1/3 innings of his college career, he posted a 6.50 ERA with a 1.805 WHIP. View full article

To continue bolstering their infield, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Mike Boeve, a third baseman from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Another power bat in the hot corner, Mike Boeve had an incredible third year with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Boeve slashing .401/.512/.563 for an OPS of 1.075. In addition to hitting for average, his plate discipline is excellent, boasting 32 walks while striking out just nine times in 211 plate appearances. Unlike fellow draftee Brock Wilkens, Boeve lacks in power, hitting just four home runs and 15 doubles, but their skillsets seem to complement each other, and Boeve might be a much-needed consistent leadoff hitter. His incredible hitting talent is undoubtedly a bright spot in the future of the Brewer organization if things work out. The draft slot associated with the 54th pick is $1,546,100. Baseball America's scouting report, where he ranked 61st overall. MLB.com's scouting report, where he ranked 81st overall. View full article

aye aye cap'n.

With the 33rd pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers have selected Josh Knoth, a right-handed pitcher from Patchogue-Medford High School in Medford, New York. Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic While relatively small at 6'1 and 190 pounds, Josh Knoth is a crafty pitcher with arguably the best curveball in the entire draft class. Earning a 60-grade from MLB scouts, it boasts a spin rate of ~3,000 RPMs and will continue to develop. He also utilizes a 55-grade fastball, 65-grade slider, and a 45-grade changeup, the weakest pitch in his arsenal. Players are often difficult to evaluate properly out of high school, especially pitchers who may run into injury issues after seeing an increase in workload. If things work out, he has the chance to have a long career in the major leagues, hopefully most of which is spent getting outs for Milwaukee. The draft slot associated with the 33rd pick is $2,543,800. You can read a brief profile about Knoth by Jeremy Nygaard here. Baseball America's scouting report, where he was ranked 41st overall. MLB.com's scouting report, where he was ranked 98th overall. How do you feel about the selection of Josh Knoth? View full article

The newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers is Brock Wilken, who the team chose with the 18th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The slugger is a third baseman from Wake Forest University. Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic An extremely dangerous hitter, Brock Wilken slashed an amazing .345/.506/.807 in his third season at Wake Forest, good enough for an OPS of 1.313. With 31 home runs and 15 doubles, he's definitely earned his 70-grade for power and will join a stacked farm system with some serious bats. With a 6'4, 225 pound frame, who's to say more power isn't to come? To go along with his excellent slugging ability, he walked more than he struck out over 320 plate appearances (69 BB, 58 SO). The draft slot associated with the 18th pick is $4,021,400. Baseball America's scouting report, where he ranked 23rd overall. MLB.com's scouting report, where he ranked 25th overall. View full article

The Brewers get to work early, striking first and finding victory in the first game of the series against the current NL Central leader. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 90 pitches, 50 strikes (55.6%) Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (12), Willy Adames (14) Top 3 WPA: Willy Adames (.172), Corbin Burnes (.114), Joey Wiemer (.102) Bottom 3 WPA: Tyson Miller (-.040), Blake Perkins (-.036), Christian Yelich (-.033) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Goes Scoreless (Almost) Corbin Burnes had a strong beginning to his start, cruising through the first time through the lineup in order. After a walk of TJ Friedl in the fourth inning, a forceout, pickoff, and strikeout kept his dominant pitching performance going. The fifth inning is when things started to come apart at the seams. After giving up a single and a stolen base to Elly De La Cruz, Joey Votto blasted a home run to right center field to give the Reds their first two runs of the game. Burnes followed up by conceding two more walks before finally getting out of the inning with a flyout and a groundout. In his final inning of work, he’d give up a single and yet another walk but escape unscathed. On the bright side, his cutter was back to usual nasty form, topping out at 96.3 mph. Bullpen Keeps It Up Hoby Milner had another standout performance, striking out four batters in 1.2 innings without giving up a single hit or walk. Tyson Miller wasn’t as lucky, giving up two walks and a double to Joey Votto to assign himself an earned run before allowing Devin Williams to step in for the save, his 19th of the season. In his defense, it was Miller’s first major league relief appearance since June 14th where he gave up just one walk in 1.0 inning against the Twins. While his ERA is a somewhat subpar 5.79 over 9.1 innings, it’s important to know that ERA can often be skewed for relievers, especially those with a small sample size of innings pitched. His WHIP of 1.286 is slightly closer to the acceptable range. Brewers Have A Field Day The offense was cooking as Milwaukee scored in four separate innings, finally proving that they can indeed hit lefty pitching after all. Three consecutive doubles by William Contreras, Willy Adames, and Owen Miller scored the first two runs for the Brewers in dominant fashion and put Reds starter Andrew Abbott on high alert. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Joey Wiemer hit a 2-RBI home run in the second inning to give the Brewers an imposing 4-0 lead very early in the game. His 397-foot bomb to left center field brought Milwaukee’s win probability to an optimistic 87.2% After Votto’s 2-RBI home run to bring the score to 4-2, the Brewers responded with a 2-RBI home run of their own, courtesy of Willy Adames. His 378-foot moonshot to left field essentially sealed the deal, bringing the win probability to 93.3%. Last but not least, Victor Caratini continued his late-inning RBI streak by hitting a single in the seventh inning to score Blake Perkins who had gotten on base after a walk. What’s Next? Colin Rea will take the ball against righty Luke Weaver to try and keep the momentum going. With a dominant home win to start the series, who’s to say the Brewers aren’t able to carry this positive tempo through the rest of the season? Milwaukee is currently a single game behind the Reds and 6.0 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Milner 0 19 20 0 23 62 Williams 19 0 25 0 15 59 Payamps 16 0 14 14 0 44 B Wilson 0 31 0 10 0 41 Peguero 0 12 0 16 0 28 Miller 0 0 0 0 22 22 Mejia 0 0 4 17 0 21 Tweet Highlight View full article

After going blow-for-blow, Victor Caratini decides enough is enough and secures the win with a moonshot, ending the most exciting series of the season. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K, 104 pitches, 64 strikes (61.5%) Home Runs: Christian Yelich (11), Victor Caratini (5) Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.315), Victor Caratini (.299), Joel Payamps (.163) Bottom 3 WPA: J.C. Mejia (-.259), Brian Anderson (-.164), Brice Turang (-.073) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta Battles For 10 Strikeouts Like most of his starts this season, Freddy Peralta gave up a few hits and a few earned runs on his way to double digit strikeouts. In all fairness, he gave up just one earned run in his first five innings, the result of back-to-back doubles by Christopher Morel and Cody Bellinger in the second inning. In the sixth inning, a walk by Seiya Suzuki paired with a Cody Bellinger home run and a pitch count over 100 signaled that it was time to make a call to the bullpen. Despite giving up some hard contact, Freddy Peralta’s performance was dazzling, flashing some phenomenal stuff and touching up to 98.7 mph with his four-seam fastball. Peralta is still performing worse than his career average, posting a 4.70 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP vs. his average figures of 3.98 and 1.16. Mejia Makes a Boo-Boo, Payamps Saves The Day A team effort from Bryse Wilson, Elvis Peguero, J.C. Mejia, and Joel Payamps combined to pitch the final 3.2 innings of the game following Peralta’s departure from the mound. While Wilson and Peguero were excellent, conceding no baserunners and striking out two of their three assigned batters, J.C. Mejia got himself into hot water. After getting a double play, he gave up a single to Cody Bellinger and a game-tying home run to Yan Gomes, a shot that brought the score to 5-5. Despite striking out Jared Young in the very next at-bat, the Cubs were right back in the game with a 41.8% chance to win the game. Luckily, Joel Payamps was lights out, giving up just a single to Trey Mancini before retiring the next three Cubs in order to close out the game. It’s Milwaukee’s Turn To Squeak Away With The Win After going scoreless for the first half, the Brewers finally started to find their swings in the fifth inning, putting up four runs. Following a single and a walk to put Raimel Tapia and Victor Caratini on first and second, Joey Wiemer’s single sent Tapia home to tie the game at 1-1. To continue the scoring fun and his own redemption arc as of late, Christian Yelich hit a three-run blast to left field, scoring three runs and giving us a glimpse of the old Yelich we all know and love. Yelich was in the spotlight again in the seventh inning, walking, stealing second base, advancing to third from a throwing error by catcher Yan Gomes, and finally coming home after a Willy Adames sacrifice fly. But it was Victor Caratini who would strike the final blow. After the Chicago Cubs tied it up in the eighth inning, he hit a clutch home run to right field, giving the Brewers a 6-5 lead they would maintain until the last pitch. What’s Next? Continuing their tour of divisional rivals, the Brewers will host the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of a crucial six-game set composed of two, three-game series. Corbin Burnes will face Andrew Abbott, a lights-out leftie with a 1.21 ERA over 37.1 innings pitched. And no, the Brewers still have not improved their hitting against lefty pitching and are still the worst in MLB (.661 OPS). This series will definitely cause some movement within the division as the Brewers are currently 2.0 games behind Cincinnati and 6.0 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Williams 9 19 0 25 0 53 Peguero 20 0 12 0 16 48 Payamps 0 16 0 14 14 44 B Wilson 0 0 31 0 10 41 Milner 1 0 19 20 0 40 Mejia 0 0 0 4 17 21 Miller 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

In a rare blown save, Devin Williams failed to secure the last out needed to claim victory. A couple of well-placed hits and a couple of insufficient plays by the Brewers defense allowed the Cubs to squeak by with a narrow 4-3 victory. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 104 pitches, 60 strikes (57.7%) Home Runs: Willy Adames (13) Top 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (.160), Hoby Milner (.132), Brian Anderson (.116) Bottom 3 WPA: Devin Williams (-.725), Joey Wiemer (-.104), Brice Turang (-.089) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Leaves It All On The Field Adrian Houser was able to limit the tepid Cubs lineup to just one run in his five-inning start. It wasn’t easy, requiring over 100 pitches from him after giving up six total hits, but he was able to escape inning after inning. His only earned run came in the third frame, after he hit Mike Tauchman with a pitch. Tauchman advanced to second following a failed pickoff attempt and two more singles from Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ brought him home, to give Chicago the first run of the game. With two runners on, Houser got a crucial double play out of Dansby Swanson to escape the inning. The fifth inning started to seem like more trouble, with two walks and a single loading the bases with just one out. Once again, a handy-dandy Swanson double play ended the inning and Houser’s day. Houser currently has a 3.68 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP over 51 1/3 innings pitched. While his ERA is serviceable for a starter, a 1.54 WHIP is quite high, boosted by starts like today. Bats Slow Down, But Do Enough Milwaukee’s offense wasn’t as explosive in Wednesday’s game as the rest of the series, but it was enough to take a lead in the sixth inning. The Brewers tied the game in the third, following a single by Andruw Monasterio. He advanced to second on a groundout by Christian Yelich and scored on a William Contreras single to right field. The go-ahead run came in the form of a monstrous leadoff home run by Willy Adames, a 390-foot bomb to left center field that put the Brewers up 2-1. After a single and a stolen base by Jahmai Jones, Brian Anderson’s dad-powered RBI single made the score 3-1 heading into the seventh inning. Disaster Strikes Devin After three scoreless relief innings by Hoby Milner, J.C. Mejia, and Joel Payamps, Devin Williams stepped in to close out the game. Tasked with preserving a 3-1 lead, it seemed like just another day in the office for Williams, who had blown just one save all season. After two singles and two outs, Williams needed just one more out to seal the deal and walk away with yet another victory. Unfortunately, a Tauchman double scored Cody Bellinger and Jared Young to the game at 3-3, a catastrophic outcome. To make matters worse, Nico Hoerner hit a ground ball to Anderson, who made a throwing error to allow Tauchman to score the go-ahead run. While Hoerner was the third out at second base after trying to stretch his luck, it was too late for Milwaukee. The Brewers were retired in order in the ninth inning, fully blowing the small but very real lead they had at the start of the inning. What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will duel Marcus Stroman in the fourth and final game of the series. Currently down 1-2, the Brewers will hope to tie it up and prevent the Cubs from inching closer to their spot in the NL Central. This series has been extremely competitive and the final game of the set should be no different. Milwaukee is now 2.0 games behind the Cincinnati Reds and 5.0 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Williams 0 9 19 0 25 53 Payamps 13 0 16 0 14 43 B Wilson 11 0 0 31 0 42 Milner 0 1 0 19 20 40 Peguero 0 20 0 12 0 32 Mejia 0 0 0 0 4 4 Miller 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers come alive in the late innings to overcome a 6-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the 8th inning before losing by one run in the 11th. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 87 pitches, 59 strikes (67.8%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Raimel Tapia (.254), Willy Adames (.204), Jesse Winker (.159) Bottom 3 WPA: Owen Miller (-.364), Clayton Andrews (-.299), Brice Turang (-.294) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Wade Wobbles Through Start While Miley’s start wasn’t necessarily horrible, his four earned runs gave the Cubs important early momentum to carry until the last two innings. After a smooth first inning, he gave up a triple to Seiya Suzuki and a double to Yan Gomes to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. He also conceded a home run to Dansby Swanson to lead off the third inning but pitched a scoreless fourth. In his final inning, a single by Ian Happ and double by Christopher Morel led to two more Chicago runs after a sacrifice fly by Trey Mancini and a single by Cody Bellinger. In Miley’s defense, the Chicago Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball at hitting lefties, posting a team OPS of .768, 8th in MLB. He’s still posting great percentile figures for a soft contact pitcher, including a 78th percentile average exit velocity, 84th percentile HardHit%, and a 81st percentile walk rate. Brewers Spread ‘Em Out Rather than depending on a few breakout innings as per usual, the Brewers scored in four different innings. The first run came in the fifth inning after a single and stolen base from Owen Miller placed him on second with one out. After a Blake Perkins ground out advanced him to third base, he was waved in off of a single by Brice Turang. In the sixth inning, Yelich followed suit to score Milwaukee’s second run, hitting a single and stealing second base, coming home after a William Contreras single. The Cubs looked like they were going to cruise through the eighth inning, hitting Joey Wiemer with a pitch before recording two quick outs. Unfortunately for them, Contreras and Rowdy Tellez hit back-to-back singles to score Wiemer and a double from Willy Adames scored Contreras, bringing the score to 6-4. The ninth inning was as dramatic as it gets. Down by two runs, Raimel Tapia and Brice Turang hit back-to-back singles before a Yelich single scored Tapia and Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A Contreras sacrifice fly would tie the game before Tellez would strike out, slamming his bat in frustration for not sealing the deal. Bullpens Duel In Extras Following Miley’s start, Bryse Wilson would relieve 2.1 innings, giving up just one hit and one earned run. Hoby Milner would finish the remainder of the eighth inning, giving up two hits and an earned run of his own. In a clutch situation, J.B. Bukauskas and Elvis Peguero pitched the ninth and tenth innings, giving up no hits and keeping the game winnable. Bukauskas especially had a great outing, striking out two of his three assigned batters. Unfortunately, Clayton Andrews couldn’t keep the boat afloat, conceding a lone single to Nico Hoerner to score the extra-innings runner, giving the Cubs the lead at an eventual final score of 7-6. What’s Next? Adrian Houser will take the ball against left-handed breakout phenomenon Justin Steele in the third game of what’s been an immensely competitive series thus far. While the Cubs are great at hitting against lefties, their hitting against righties is slightly less impressive, posting a team OPS of .710, 18th in MLB. Meanwhile, the Brewers remain the worst team against lefty pitching, posting a dismal .656 OPS. The Brewers are currently 1.0 games behind the Cincinnati Reds and 6.0 games ahead of both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Andrews 0 30 0 0 13 43 B Wilson 0 11 0 0 31 42 Peguero 0 0 20 0 12 32 Payamps 0 13 0 16 0 29 Williams 0 0 9 19 0 28 Bukauskas 0 0 0 11 10 21 Milner 0 0 1 0 19 20 Tweet Highlight View full article

Kinda bad luck. They're 7-12 in one-run games and rarely get blown out. They have a positive run differential of +22 (Milwaukee's is -14) mostly from losing a bunch of close games and winning a bunch by a wide margin.