Jason Wang

In one of the best comebacks of the season, the Brewers get through an early 6-0 deficit to get an important win at home. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 6.0 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 93 pitches, 65 strikes (69.9%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Jahmai Jones (.396), Christian Yelich (.318), Joel Payamps (.107) Bottom 3 WPA: Julio Teheran(-.257), Brice Turang (-.198), Owen Miller (-.057) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Teheran Recovers From Early Struggles In his second rough start in a row, Julio Teheran gave up six earned runs across the second and third inning. He had a great start, giving up just one baserunner in the first inning off of an error by Owen Miller, but quickly started to spiral. To start things off in the second, Dansby Swanson hit a leadoff double before being scored by a Cody Bellinger single. Christopher Morel hit an RBI-double to bring the Cubs lead to 2-0 before Tucker Barnhart’s RBI single brought Morel home as the third run. The third inning seemed like Teheran was starting to settle in, recording two outs with just Dansby Swanson on first. After Christopher Morel’s single to put runners on the corner, it kicked off an episode of deja vu. Nick Madrigal’s 2-RBI double put the score at 5-0, before he came home off of a Tucker Barnhart single. While it ultimately had no impact on the game, Teheran balked Barnhart to scoring position before finally getting Mike Tauchman to ground out. On the bright side, he was able to pitch the second half of his start without giving up another earned run, an impressive feat given the punishment he received in the first half of the game. After conceding 13 runs in his past 11.2 innings pitched, Teheran’s season numbers have finally regressed to his career averages. His current ERA and WHIP of 3.64 and 1.02 seem to be more sustainable than his outstanding numbers earlier in the year. Jahmai Jones - Remember The Name By the bottom of the third inning, the Brewers were already facing a grim 6-0 deficit. With just a 6.1% chance to win the game, the team began one of the most exciting comebacks of the season. Who powered this comeback? It was Brian Anderson’s paternity leave replacement, Jahmai Jones. With his last major league appearance in 2021, most were not expecting him to break out the way he did today. The comeback started with a Brice Turang walk, followed by an RBI double by William Contreras and an RBI triple by Christian Yelich (who is looking like Yelich of Yesteryear, by the way). With the score at 6-2, Willy Adames scored Yelich with a single of his own before two more strikeouts by Owen MIller and Blake Perkins to close the inning. The seventh inning seemed like it would be quick, with Christian Yelich hitting a single in between two outs. Owen Miller and Raimel Tapia kept things going with two back-to-back walks to load the bases before a massive Jahmai Jones double cleared the bases to tie the game at 6-6. The bases were loaded again following a walk of Joey Wiemer and Victor Caratini being hit by a pitch, but a Brice Turang strikeout kept the game even. The eighth inning is where the Brew Crew finally began to take over. After two back-to-back singles by William Contreras and Christian Yelich, Yelich stole second base. The go-ahead single by Willy Adames was insured by a Rowdy Tellez sacrifice fly. Coupled with the shutout performance by the bullpen, Milwaukee kept the score at 8-6. Bukauskas Makes Strong Brewers Debut, Bullpen Continues to Impress In his first relief appearance for Milwaukee and just his second inning pitched all season, J.P. Bukauskas gave up just two baserunners. Bukauskas used his slider and sinker to induce weak contact, getting an important double play to compensate for a leadoff hit by pitch. Joel Payamps retired his three batters in order in the eighth inning, a crucial outing for what was at the time, a very close game. In his 18th save of the season, Devin Williams got two groundouts while giving up a double to Nico Hoerner and a walk to Ian Happ. Facing a dangerous hitter in Dansby Swanson in a clutch situation, Williams caught him looking with a perfectly painted four-seam fastball to finalize the amazing comeback. What’s Next? In the second game of the series, Wade Miley will face off against Kyle Hendricks, a dangerous right-handed opponent on the mound. The Brewers are riding some decent momentum, hitting at a team average of .754 over the past seven days, 13th best in MLB. In comparison, the Chicago Cubs are batting just .657 over the same period, 25th best in MLB. With this victory, the Brewers have officially reclaimed the top spot in the NL Central, 0.5 games ahead of the Reds and 6.0 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Williams 26 0 0 9 19 54 Payamps 18 0 13 0 16 47 Andrews 0 0 30 0 0 30 Peguero 3 0 0 20 0 23 Milner 15 0 0 1 0 16 B Wilson 0 0 11 0 0 11 Bukauskas 0 0 0 0 11 11 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers found their sea legs on a treacherous annual voyage to Pittsburgh, avoiding a tragic deja vu situation to maintain the lead, even after a six-run eighth inning by the Pirates. Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 7.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 99 pitches, 65 strikes (65.7%) Home Runs: Christian Yelich (10), Raimel Tapia (3) Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.192), Corbin Burnes (.131), Willy Adames (.087) Bottom 3 WPA: Victor Caratini (-.032), Bryse Wilson (-.025), Jesse Winker (-.020) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Burns The Bucs In a strong bounce-back performance following two disappointing starts against the Guardians and Diamondbacks, Corbin Burnes tossed five perfect innings before starting to come apart in the sixth. After walking Jared Triolo and Ji Hwan Bae, he hit Andrew McCutchen with a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Jack Suwinski hit a two-run single to end the shutout, but Burnes quickly got a groundout from Carlos Santana to avoid further trouble. He retired his last three Pirates in order in the seventh inning before departing the mound for good, turning back the clock to his former self. It’s clear the stuff is still there, and he hasn’t fully regressed as an ace, but I’m sure fans would love to see these types of outings more consistently. His ERA and WHIP stand at 4.00 and 1.13, quite a bit worse than his career averages of 3.34 and 1.06. Andrews Struggles In Big League Debut After seven innings of two-run baseball from Burnes, Clayton Andrews was brought in for relief. A recent callup from the Nashville Sounds, he and J.B. Bukauskas will be taking over for Matt Bush and Thomas Pannone, who were both designated for assignment. Unfortunately for Andrews, his first major-league appearance was not the most encouraging display of his skillset. Let’s see how he managed to give up five runs while recording just two outs. Ji Hwan Bae grounds out. Jason Delay hits a double. Josh Palacios hit a single to score Delay. The score is 11-3 in favor of Milwaukee. Andrew McCutchen grounds out, moving Palacios to second base. Jack Suwinski hits a home run, scoring himself and Palacios. The score is 11-5. Connor Joe walks Henry Davis hits a single. Joe advances to third. Bryse Wilson replaces Andrews Tucupita Marcano hits a triple, scoring Joe and Davis, serving as Andrews’s fourth and fifth earned runs. Andrews has been great in Triple A this season, posting a 1.65 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. After taking some time to adjust to major-league hitting, (hopefully) he'll find his spots a little better and avoid future outings like this. Brewers Are Heating Up Like A Microwave Oven Like I wrote about yesterday, the Brewers chose to do most of their scoring in two innings instead of spreading it across the board more evenly. After a sacrifice fly by Rowdy Tellez in the first inning, the second inning quickly got out of hand for Pittsburgh. Brian Anderson hit a single and then advanced to third on a Brice Turang single. After a Blake Perkins groundball, Turang was forced out at second while Anderson safely scored Milwaukee’s second run of the game and Perkins made it to first base. After a Raimel Tapia walk, Christian Yelich hit a crucial home run to right field to bring all three Brewers home, putting the Brewers up 5-0. A Jesse Winker walk and a Willy Adames double became the sixth run, after a Tellez groundout. But Wait, There’s More! The sixth inning was more of the same, starting off with back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with zero outs. Jesse Winker’s double cleared the bases, giving the Brewers an incredible nine-run lead. Wanting to express his love for round numbers, Victor Caratini hit an RBI single of his own to set the score at an even 10-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Last but not least, Raimel Tapia hit a solo home run to drive in the 11th and final run of the game for Milwaukee. This outburst of offense was crucial to saving the game, as even Pittsburgh’s six-run eighth inning was all in vain, with the Brewers maintaining a three-run lead throughout the duration of the ninth. What’s Next? Colin Rea will face current oldest-player-in-the-major-leagues Rich Hill in the deciding game of the series. Both games have been somewhat close, with Pittsburgh refusing to quit in the later innings, but the Brewers have demonstrated excellent resilience and have finally figured out how to put bat to ball. Milwaukee and Cincinnati are currently tied with records of 44-39, 4.5 games ahead of the Pirates and the Cubs, who are tied for second place in the division. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Payamps 0 17 18 0 13 48 B Wilson 14 21 0 0 11 46 Williams 0 13 26 0 0 39 Andrews 0 0 0 0 30 30 Milner 0 5 15 0 0 20 Peguero 0 9 3 0 0 12 Bukauskas 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Good question. I think we're still a bit away from this but when he does return, I imagine dropping Rea from the rotation as he is currently the weakest starter, but who knows for sure?

How did the Brewers lose in such heartbreaking fashion following a strong offensive display? Let's just say that one guy had a WPA of -.909 and there might be some bullpen changes moving forward. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 108 pitches, 64 strikes (59.3%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.145), Owen Miller (.083), Raimel Tapia (.065) Bottom 3 WPA: Matt Bush (-.909), Blake Perkins (-.079), Brian Anderson (-.061) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta Pitches Acceptably It feels like every Freddy Peralta start these days can be described as “meeting expectations.” It’s never anything extraordinary and the good aspects usually come with some asterisks. While he struck out eight Pirates and was pumping gas like a Shell employee in New Jersey, he gave up three earned runs and required almost 110 pitches to get through a little over five innings. While it’d take its own article to diagnose his current shortcomings, a few key things to highlight can be found on his Baseball Savant page. Simply put, he’s giving up a lot of hard hits, walks, and not getting guys to chase pitches. He’s great in the zone, but hasn’t been so great outside of it this season. While his recent 50 PAs have seen his xwOBA trend in the right direction, it's still trying to correct for a steady upward trend over the course of the season. He’s currently working with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP over 86.2 innings pitched. Big Third, Big Seventh Like Peralta’s satisfactory starts, another trend for the Brewers this season has been how concentrated their offense is. Rather than putting up one or two runs across several innings, they typically ride the momentum from good leadoff hitting and score all their runs at once. The third inning started with a hit by pitch by Joey Wiemer and a single by Raimel Tapia. A double by Christian Yelich (who has been hitting fantastically as of late) scored Wiemer and put Tapia at third. William Contreras would make it to first base after the Pirates failed to make a play at the plate, watching as Tapia slid across home to score the Brewers’ second run. A Rowdy Tellez single would score Yelich and move Contreras to third followed by a sacrifice fly to score Contreras, bringing the score to 4-0 in favor of Milwaukee by the end of the inning. The seventh inning was a similar story, starting with a fielding error and a hit by pitch to put Christian Yelich and William Contreras on base. After Brian Anderson popped out and Willy Adames struck out, Owen Miller hit an RBI double to score Yelich. Brice Turang hit a double of his own to score Conteras and Miller, giving the Brewers a comfortable 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Surely a winnable game, right? The Ninth…We Don’t Talk About The Ninth Before the Greek tragedy that was the final inning of this game, Thomas Pannone made his season debut, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up two earned runs while striking out four. While not the most inspiring outing, he posted a 2.70 ERA over 53.1 innings while primarily pitching as a starter in AAA this season, so we’ve yet to see if he’s truly an improvement over Peter Strzelecki. As we headed into the bottom of the ninth, the score was 7-5 in favor of the Brewers and Milwaukee had a 90.9% chance to seal the deal. In stepped Matt Bush to record the final three outs. Ji Hwan Bae hit a single followed by a groundout by Josh Palacios. As the tying runner, Andrew McCutchen hit a clutch double to score Bae and bring the score to 7-6. Henry Davis grounded out, and with the tying run in scoring position and two outs on the board, Carlos Santana hit a crushing home run to right field, walking off the Brewers while wearing some of the worst City Connect uniforms the league has ever seen. Matt Bush currently has a 9.58 ERA and three blown saves. In his current state, he will likely be moved from the team either by being traded designated for assignment. What’s Next? Corbin Burnes will face Johan Oviedo in a chance at redemption. While the Pirates will undoubtedly be riding the momentum of the home crowd following an impressive walk-off victory, the Brewers have shown that their offense has made the necessary adjustments to succeed against Pittsburgh’s pitching staff. The Brewers now trail the Cincinnati Reds by a full game and lead the Pirates by 3.5 games. The Cubs are only 4.0 games behind the Brewers and the Cardinals are still trying to relearn the sport of baseball, lagging behind Milwaukee by 9.0 games. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Pannone 0 0 0 0 59 59 Williams 6 0 13 26 0 45 Payamps 0 0 17 18 0 35 Milner 15 0 5 15 0 35 B Wilson 0 14 21 0 0 35 Peguero 6 0 9 3 0 18 Bush 0 0 0 0 11 11 Tweet Highlight View full article

After being tied heading into the second half of the game, some timely hitting and lights-out pitching by the bullpen gave Milwaukee the win in the third game of their series in Queens. The Mets came unraveled in the eighth, and they might never ravel back up. Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 74 pitches, 40 strikes (54.1%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.194), Jesse Winker (.184), Blake Perkins (.122) Bottom 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (-.125), Rowdy Tellez (-.110), William Contreras (-.065) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Miley Works In And Out Of Trouble Wade Miley had some mixed results in his start, giving up two earned runs and having quite the tense fourth inning. After retiring the first four batters in a row, he gave up a solo home run to Tommy Pham in the second inning to bring the score to 2-1. After retiring the Mets in order in the third inning, Miley opened the fourth with a walk of Francisco Lindor, a single by Pete Alonso, and a walk by Pham to load the bases with no outs. After a Francisco Alvarez walk to tie the game at 2-2, Miley knew he had to lock it in. He struck out Brett Baty and got Mark Canha to ground into a double play, limiting the damage to just one run and leaving the mound in triumph. After a brutal 28-pitch workload for just one inning, the decision was made to replace Miley with Bryse Wilson; the bullpen would take us through the remainder of the contest. This was Miley's third start following his return from the injured list, so it makes sense that the team would be more conservative than not for the sake of longevity. One funny moment of the game that was caught on the broadcast was this friendly umpire call that was received quite poorly by Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Relievers Roll Through Mets Lineup Five relievers were used to finish the final five innings of the game: Wilson, Hoby MIlner, Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps, and Devin Williams. Between the five of them, they’d give up four hits, zero walks, and strike out five batters. Not only were they unhittable, they were ruthlessly efficient. Peguero and Williams each recorded their three outs in fewer than 15 pitches. Williams recorded his 15th save of the season, and continues to dominate on the mound, posting a 1.63 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Did I mention his airbender is still one of the hardest pitches to hit in baseball? It currently boasts an opponent batting average of .140 and a Whiff% of 41.1, mostly due to its incomprehensible movement. Attention - The Brewers Are Finally Hitting In The Second Half While their offense is still one of the worst in baseball (.675 team OPS, 27th in MLB), they still found a way to win. Milwaukee put up two runs early, thanks to a double by Christian Yelich, a walk by Willy Adames, and a double by Jesse Winker to send them both home. After the Mets tied the game, the Brewers pulled ahead once again in the sixth inning following a leadoff double by Owen Miller and an RBI single by Blake Perkins. To add some insurance, they piled on more offense in the eighth inning with a double by Brian Anderson, a walk by Blake Perkins, a (highly controversial) hit by pitch by Joey Wiemer, and a two-run single by Christian Yelich to lift the score to 5-2. Despite their record and current divisional position, make no mistake: the Brewers have many weaknesses as a team. They are currently 23rd in MLB for run differential (-25) and are 26th in MLB for runs scored (321). While the pitching has gotten better and important roster moves (such as optioning Peter Strzelecki and calling up Thomas Pannone) will hopefully continue that trend, the offense must follow suit in order for the team to stay competitive. What’s Next? In the final game of the series, Adrian Houser will make his first start since June 9th against Max Scherzer, a truly exciting matchup on the mound. While Houser is looking to return to his regular spot in the Brewers rotation, Max Scherzer is looking to return to his regular form, as he's posted uncharacteristically shaky stats this season. With both teams victorious, the Brewers remain 0.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds but are now 4.0 games ahead of the third-place Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Payamps 0 26 0 0 17 43 Milner 14 3 15 0 5 37 Peguero 3 19 6 0 9 37 Williams 0 16 6 0 13 35 B Wilson 0 0 0 14 21 35 Bush 19 0 0 0 0 19 Pannone 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

He's been brutal in the majors so far, posting an 8.08 ERA over 39.0 innings pitched. He's been optioned since May but HOPEFULLY this is a chance for the team to score some runs off of a relatively green pitcher.

The Brewers struck down the Mets in the first game of a series in Queens, thanks to one mighty jolt by your favorite mullet-wearing rookie. Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Colin Rea - 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 86 pitches, 59 strikes (68.6%) Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (11) Top 3 WPA: Joey Wiemer (.299), Colin Rea (.220), Devin Williams (.178) Bottom 3 WPA: Owen Miller (-.166), Willy Adames (-.103), Jesse Winker (-.095) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Rea Stretches Out And Reaches For Six And A Third In one of his longest starts this season, Rea went past six innings while giving up just one earned run, one of his best performances for the Brewers. He’s averaging right around 5 1/3 innings in his 13 starts this season, but after making quick work of the Mets early, he was able to find a few more outs. His one earned run came by way of a Starling Marte single, followed by a stolen base and a throwing error by William Contreras that allowed Marte to move to third, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Francisco Lindor. Overall, incredible stuff by Rea, as his pitching was an integral part of holding the Mets to just three hits and one run all game. His veteran craftiness and use of six different pitches kept the Mets dazed and confused enough for the Brewers to steal away the victory. He currently holds a 4.57 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 69 innings pitched this season, just barely under his career averages of 4.80 and 1.32. Bullpen Turns Off The Lights In Queens It was another dazzling performance by one of the hottest bullpens in baseball. Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, and Devin Williams combined for a perfect 2 2/3 innings pitched, striking out two along the way. Despite their best efforts, the Mets simply could not make good contact and found themselves grounding and lining out five times. Williams was able to record his 14th save of the season, currently fifth in the National League. The bullpen currently has five relievers with ERA below 3.00: Devin Williams - 1.69 Joel Payamps - 2.29 Hoby Milner - 2.61 Bryse Wilson - 2.75 Elvis Peguero - 2.86 Wiemer Takes The Lead And Keeps It The Brewers only scored in one inning, but it was enough. In the sixth inning, Drew Smith replaced Justin Verlander on the mound and gave up a single to Jesse Winker before recording two outs. Powered by whatever performance-enhancing substance is in that hair of his, Joey Wiemer hit yet another clutch home run, sending Winker and himself to home plate with a missile to center field. The ball had an exit velocity of 108.4 mph and traveled 422 feet, nearly enough for it to land in the East River. That was, ultimately, the nail in the coffin for the home team, as the Brewers' incredible relief pitching made up for the lack of late offense as the team would maintain their precious 2-1 lead until the very last out. What’s Next? Julio Teheran will seek to replicate Rea’s stellar outing as a fellow come-out-of-nowhere star, taking the mound against lefty David Peterson in the second game of the series. With today’s crucial win and recent momentum, the Brewers have reclaimed the lead in the NL Central, with half a game separating them and the second-place Cincinnati Reds and three games separating them from the third-place Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Strzelecki 0 20 22 0 0 42 Milner 0 0 14 3 15 32 Peguero 0 0 3 19 6 28 Bush 0 9 19 0 0 28 Payamps 0 0 0 26 0 26 Williams 0 0 0 16 6 22 Houser 0 19 0 0 0 19 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Owen Miller and Elvis Peguero stepped up in the 10th inning to give the Brewers the victory, in a very competitive final game of the Crew's weekend series in Cleveland. Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 99 pitches, 66 strikes (66.7%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Owen Miller (.314), Christian Yelich (.211), Elvis Peguero (.195) Bottom 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (-.273), Brian Anderson (-.154), Willy Adames (-.136) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Burns Out In The Sixth Corbin Burnes was having a fine outing, giving up just one run in his first five innings of work. In the sixth inning, however, cracks began to show. After a leadoff walk by Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez hit a triple to right field, allowing Ramirez to score Cleveland’s second run of the game. Burnes would then walk Tyler Freeman and throw a wild pitch, allowing Gimenez to come home and Freeman to advance to third. Next, he gave up an RBI single to Will Brennan, tying the game at 4-4. After a pop out by Gabriel Arias, he conceded yet another single to Bo Naylor, finally showing enough to prompt Craig Counsell to remove him from the game. There were some flashes of the old Burnes, but overall, it was not the best outing from the team's ace. His ERA and WHIP for the season stand at 4.10 and 1.19, respectively, over 94 innings pitched. What A Relief! Despite a shaky start, the bullpen stepped up in the best way possible. Hoby Milner stepped in to face Steven Kwan and record the final out of the sixth inning, getting him to ground out. Joel Payamps would pitch in the seventh and eighth innings, giving up two hits and zero earned runs, and Devin Williams would pitch in the ninth, allowing no base runners and taking the game into extras. With the game on the line, Elvis Peguero took the mound in the 10th, striking out two and giving up zero baserunners to close out the game after the Brewers took a 5-4 lead in the top of the frame. Big Third, Big Tenth After Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Milwaukee started getting to work in the third inning. After Joey Wiemer hit a leadoff single, Christian Yelich and Owen Miller hit back-to-back singles, giving the Brewers the lead at 2-1. With Miller on second base, Rowdy Tellez hit an RBI single to bring the lead to 3-1. After the Guardians tied the game in the sixth, Milwaukee surprised everyone by striking first in extras. Miller hit a crucial go-ahead double to score Joey Wiemer who had started on second base. While it was the only hit they got, it was the only one they needed. What’s Next? Colin Rea will make the first start in a four-game series against the New York Mets, who will send Justin Verlander to the mound. The Mets have struggled all season, currently posting a record of 35-42 and having even more pitching issues than the Brewers. With this win, the Brewers stand just 0.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the lead in the NL Central and 3.0 games above the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Strzelecki 29 0 20 22 0 71 Peguero 24 0 0 3 19 46 Bush 0 0 9 19 0 28 Payamps 0 0 0 0 26 26 Milner 3 0 0 14 3 20 Houser 0 0 19 0 0 19 Williams 0 0 0 0 16 16 B Wilson 10 0 0 0 0 10 Tweet Highlight View full article

After two runs by Christian Yelich in the first few innings, the Brewers offense completely falls off the face of the Earth and the team fails to come back from a late two-run deficit. Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 98 pitches, 58 strikes (59.2%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.085), Peter Strzelecki (.035), Freddy Peralta (.019) Bottom 3 WPA: Elvis Peguero (-.135), Raimel Tapia (-.118), Luis Urias (-.111) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta’s Pitching Continues To Be Satisfactory Today was another typical day for Freddy, giving up a few earned runs but avoiding any irreparable damage. His first earned run came in the fourth inning after a single and two walks loaded the bases before a single out was recorded. Josh Naylor would save him some trouble by grounding into a double play but Steven Kwan would score. The bases would stay loaded after Peralta would walk Josh Bell and hit Andres Gimenez with a pitch, but a strikeout of David Fry allowed him to escape the jam. In the sixth inning, Peralta would give up back-to-back singles before being replaced by Hoby Milner. Unfortunately, these baserunners would both score off of more singles by Josh Naylor and David Fry. Peralta’s pitching is far from extraordinary but he’s somewhat able to get the job done these days. He’s still got electric stuff, boasting an 80th percentile Whiff%, but boy does he give up some hard contact. He currently has a 26th percentile Barrel% at 9.9%, the highest clip that he’s had in his career thus far. He also has a 24th percentile Chase Rate and a 38th percentile walk rate, meaning if he’s not blowing past batters with his fastball, they’re not really biting on his pitches outside of the zone, culminating in too many free trips to first base. It Takes Four A combined effort from Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, Peter Strzelecki, and Matt Bush would finish the final three innings of the game. After Milner gave up the RBI single to Josh Naylor to tie the game at 2-2, he would record two more outs before being replaced by Peguero. Peguero gave up an RBI single to David Fry to give the Guardians the lead at 3-2 before getting Bo Naylor to ground out to end the inning. While Strzelecki had a pretty straightforward inning in which he gave up zero earned runs, Matt Bush would give up a double to Josh Bell and an RBI single to Andres Gimenez to bring the score to 4-2. Guardians Score Half the Brewers Runs After a leadoff single by Christian Yelich in the first inning, a wild-pitch strikeout of William Contreras allowed Yelich to advance to second. Rowdy Tellez hit what seemed to be a routine fly ball to right field until David Fry completely missed the catch, allowing Yelich to round third and head home, giving the Brewers a first inning lead. Unfortunately, Milwaukee didn’t do much of anything else. Yelich hit another single in the third before stealing second base and reaching home off of a Contreras single to give the Brewers their second run, but that was really it for the team. In total, the team put up just four hits and four walks, not nearly enough to win. What’s Next? Corbin Burnes will make the start in the final game of the series against Aaron Civale. Burnes is trying to bounce back from a horrid last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks that saw him give up seven earned runs in just five innings of work while the team hopes to clinch the series. The Cincinnati Reds finally snapped their winning streak at 12 games, meaning they are still just 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers, who are also 1.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Strzelecki 0 29 0 20 22 71 Milner 17 3 0 0 14 34 Bush 0 0 0 9 19 28 Peguero 0 24 0 0 3 27 Houser 0 0 0 19 0 19 Payamps 16 0 0 0 0 16 Williams 14 0 0 0 0 14 B Wilson 3 10 0 0 0 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers have a massive outburst of offense in the second half of the game to take a dominant victory over the Guardians in the first game of the series. Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 67 pitches, 49 strikes (73.1%) Home Runs: Willy Adames 2 (12) Top 3 WPA: Wade Miley (.315), Willy Adames (.189), William Contreras (.084) Bottom 3 WPA: Raimel Tapia (-.038), Jesse Winker (-.036), Christian Yelich (-.030) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Miley Pitches With Lethal Efficiency Of pitchers with at least 150 plate appearances, Wade Miley has the 13th lowest strikeout rate. Wade Miley also has an ERA of 2.91 and a WHIP of 1.03, proving his elite ability to draw weak contact and save himself the effort of trying to get three strikes on the young whippersnappers of today’s game. Today was an excellent example, as he used just 67 pitches to record his 18 outs while giving up three hits and no earned runs. While he did sometimes bring out his blazing 91 mph velocity to get a few strikeouts, he got seven lineouts, three groundouts, two pop outs, a flyout, and a double play to retire most of his batters faced. He likely would’ve extended his start if not for some cramping that he felt towards the end of his start, choosing to complete his quality start while preventing a potential future IL stint. Strzelecki Slips, Houser Holds, Bush is Back The sole run earned by Cleveland occurred in the seventh inning when Jose Ramirez hammered a long ball to right center field off of Peter Strzelecki. While it wasn’t the greatest way to lead off his relief appearance, Strzelecki promptly retired the next three batters in order. Adrian Houser and Matt Bush would pitch two scoreless innings. Houser gave up two hits but was able to keep them as infield singles and recorded the third out without too much issue. Matt Bush was perfect in the ninth inning, giving up no base runners and striking out Josh Bell to end the game. Boy Oh Boy, What A Sixth! The Brewers took a one-run lead in the first inning after a double by William Contreras was followed by an RBI single by Willy Adames. After that mistake, Shane Bieber would cruise through the remainder of the first half before hitting a wall in the sixth inning. It started off with a single by William Contreras. A double by Rowdy Tellez put two runners in scoring position, both being sent home by a dinger to left field by Willy Adames, bringing the score to 4-0 in favor of Milwaukee. A no-doubter that left the bat at 109.2 mph, it sure was a pretty sight to behold. Oh, it also traveled 423 feet and casually sailed out of Progressive Field. After what had already been a pretty long night for Bieber, he was replaced by Tim Herrin. Unfortunately, the Brewers were not finished. After recording two outs, Herrin gave up a single to Blake Perkins and hit Luis Urias with a pitch. Joey Wiemer would send Perkins home with a single, making the score 5-0. Christian Yelich piled on the pain with a single to score Urias and bring the score to 6-0 before Contreras would finally ground out to end the inning. Just for the sake of insurance, Willy Adames also hit another home run in the ninth inning, a solo shot to center field that traveled 397 feet. A beneficiary of ballpark conditions, Progressive Field was one of just eight fields where the ball would’ve ended up in the stands. What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will toe the slab against Tanner Bibee in the second game of this series. He’s looking to iron himself out after a recent trend of rough outings, posting a 6.06 ERA over his last seven games. Unfortunately for the Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds won their barnburner of a game against the Atlanta Braves to maintain their lead in the NL Central, 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee. The Brewers are also 2.5 games ahead of the third-place Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Houser 77 0 0 0 19 96 Strzelecki 0 0 29 0 20 49 Megill 0 0 34 0 0 34 Peguero 0 0 24 0 0 24 Milner 0 17 3 0 0 20 Payamps 0 16 0 0 0 16 Williams 0 14 0 0 0 14 B Wilson 0 3 10 0 0 13 Bush 0 0 0 0 9 9 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Diamondbacks are also one of the most well-rounded team in the MLB, placing 4th in team OPS at .771, To skirt by while giving up zero runs is undoubtedly an impressive accomplishment. Now if only our own offense weren't 27th in MLB in offense...

After walking nine batters and falling behind late, the Milwaukee could do nothing but watch as the Diamondbacks clinched the series in the third game. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 88 pitches, 50 strikes (56.8%) Home Runs: Raimel Tapia (2) Top 3 WPA: Julio Teheran (.280), Raimel Tapia (.115), Peter Strzelecki (.055) Bottom 3 WPA: Elvis Peguero (-.296), Owen Miller (-.197), Trevor Megill (-.189) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Teheran Gives Up A Few Free Bases But Avoids Damage Julio Teheran didn’t have the cleanest start but was overall able to prevent any runs from being scored. He got into trouble immediately, having to escape a bases loaded jam in the first inning after giving up two walks and a single. Teheran seemed to have an issue with control in particular, walking four batters and hitting Ketel Marte with a pitch while striking out only three. He hasn’t been much of a strikeout pitcher this season, posting a 5.86 K/9 vs. the league-average figure of 8.70. When he does get strikeouts, it’s usually through deception and mischief rather than raw velocity and athleticism. Nonetheless, his incredible ERA of 1.53 proves that soft contact can be just as good, if not better, at limiting scoring and giving your team the defensive edge needed to win games. Scary Scenes For Peguero & Strzelecki Elvis Peguero took the mound in the sixth inning and ended up giving the Diamondbacks the lead. After a walk by Pavin Smith, Emmanuel Rivera hit what seemed to be a routine single to center field. However, Joey Wiemer failed to get a proper handle on the ball, allowing Smith to round third and head home, scoring the Diamondbacks’ first run. While Smith’s run was unearned, Peguero's lone earned run would come by way of an Alek Thomas single that would score Rivera and give Arizona a 2-1 lead. Peter Strzelecki got into his own jam, walking three batters in a row to load the bases after getting two outs. After some struggles with a particularly tight zone, he finally got Emmanuel Rivera to strike out swinging on a four-seam fastball. Megill Just Makes It Worse Trevor Megill was originally intended to take over the final two innings of the game following a recently intensive workload for the bullpen. However, following three earned runs in 1.1 innings of work, he was replaced by Bryse Wilson. Despite his brief relief appearance, he gave up five hits and one walk. Wilson would complete the final two outs of the ninth inning without issue. Tapia Time! Raimel Tapia scored the first run of the game for the Brewers, sending a ball 401 feet to right center field. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, that was really all they could muster by way of offense. Notching just three hits in this game, Zac Gallen and Scott McGough simply outmatched the best efforts of the lineup. In the ninth inning, with a four-run deficit, the Brewers were retired in order. What’s Next? The Brewers will have a day off before heading to Cleveland to play a three-game series against the Guardians. The first pitching matchup will be between Wade Miley and Shane Bieber. With the Reds continuing their win streak, the Brewers are now 1.5 games behind the division lead and ahead of the Chicago Cubs by 1.5 games. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Megill 22 7 0 0 34 63 Strzelecki 21 0 0 0 29 50 Milner 12 9 0 17 3 41 Peguero 8 0 0 0 24 32 Williams 0 11 0 14 0 25 Payamps 0 0 0 16 0 16 B Wilson 0 0 0 3 10 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers overcome an early four-run deficit with some late but timely hitting. Overall, it was an exhilarating bounce-back performance following a blowout against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Colin Rea - 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 74 pitches, 49 strikes (66.2%) Home Runs: Jesse Winker (1) Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.203), Luis Urias (.183), Jesse Winker (.120) Bottom 3 WPA: Colin Rea (-.165), Christian Yelich (-.057), Hoby Milner (-.054) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Rea Gets Hit Up Early All four of Rea’s earned runs were given up in the first two innings. After a one-run first inning, Rea started off the second inning by giving up a double to Carson Kelly and a walk to Jake McCarthy before allowing all of them to score by giving up a home run to Ketel Marte. Rea was able to collect himself for the remainder of his five innings, retiring the Diamondbacks in order in the third and fourth inning and giving up just one baserunner in the fifth inning. He was pulled after getting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to pop out and giving up a single to Evan Longoria. Rea is sitting right around his career averages, posting a 4.88 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP over 62.2 innings pitched this season. Over his 217.0 total innings pitched as a big-leaguer, his ERA and WHIP are 4.89 and 1.34. Relievers Keep On Relievin’ Hoby Milner was the first pitcher to come out of the bullpen but quickly ran into trouble after Alek Thomas made it to first on a fielder’s choice but was able to advance to third after a Carson Kelly groundball resulted in a throwing error by Willy Adames. Jake McCarthy would hit another RBI single to score Arizona’s fifth run but Milner would get Geraldo Perdomo to hit a weak grounder to end the inning. Bryse Wilson, Joel Payamps, and Devin Williams would take on the final 2.1 innings of the game, giving up just one hit and one walk between them. Joel Payamps in particular had a spectacular outing, recording all three of his outs by strikeout. Williams' ninth inning earned him his 13th save of the season, the fifth most in the National League. Warming Up In Wisconsin While the Brewers had bits and pieces of offense in the first half of the game, they entered the seventh inning down 5-3. Many fans will attest to the fact that the Brewers often tend to disappear in the later parts of the game. In fact, the team’s OPS is just .632 in the seventh inning and later, 26th of all MLB teams. But tonight was different. Milwaukee started with three consecutive baserunners, with Luis Urias drawing a walk followed by back-to-back singles by Blake Perkins and Joey Wiemer to load the bases. Christian Yelich hit a soft grounder to record the first out but scored Urias, bringing the score to 5-4. Then, a huge double by William Contreras sent Perkins and Wiemer home, taking the lead and putting the score at 6-5. Owen Miller came up with a single to advance Contreras to third base and Willy Adames would put the nail in the coffin for the Diamondbacks, hitting a ground out that allowed Contreras to score the seventh run of the game for the Brewers. In other news, Jesse Winker hit his first home run of the season, a 416-foot, 107.1 mph, 2-RBI shot to center field in the fourth inning. Winker’s still got it, folks! What’s Next? Julio Teheran will make the start in the deciding game of the series against NL Cy Young frontrunner Zac Gallen. With the red-hot Reds extending their win streak to ten games, the Brewers are still behind by 0.5 games but are holding their own in the division thus far. In contrast, the former division leaders, the Pittsburgh Pirates, are now second-to-last in the division. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Williams 23 0 11 0 14 48 Milner 0 12 9 0 17 38 Megill 0 22 7 0 0 29 Payamps 13 0 0 0 16 29 Peguero 17 8 0 0 0 25 Strzelecki 0 21 0 0 0 21 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 3 3 Tweet Highlight View full article

guys just wait until he learns the slutter