Jason Wang

The Brewers have a horrid first game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing away their chance of victory in the first inning. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 86 pitches, 53 strikes (61.6%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (.031), Christian Yelich (.025), Blake Perkins (.000) Bottom 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (-.400), Victor Caratini (-.039), Rowdy Tellez (-.029) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Gets Burned In The First It didn’t take long for the Diamondbacks to gain an insurmountable lead, scoring six runs in the first inning alone. Let’s take a look at the series of unfortunate events. Geraldo Perdomo hit a double. Ketel Marte hit a single. Perdomo moved to third. Corbin Carroll walked to load the bases. Christian Walker hit a single, scoring Perdomo and loading the bases again. Lourdes Gurriel Jr./strong>. hit a single, scoring Marte and Carroll. Walker moved to third. Emmanuel Rivera made it to first on a fielder’s choice while scoring Walker. Gabriel Moreno struck out Alek Thomas hit a two-run home run. Jake McCarthy grounded out By the time he had recorded his first out, Burnes had already given the Diamondbacks a 4-0 lead. By the time he recorded his third out, the game was all but over. Heading into the bottom of the first inning, the Brewers had just a 9.3% chance to win the game. This was one of Burnes’s worst performances of the season and there wasn’t much the lineup could do after a crushing start to the game. Houser Takes On Entire Second Half By the time Adrian Houser took the mound in the sixth inning of the game, the score was 7-1 and Craig Counsell didn’t really feel like wasting any bullpen arms, using Houser to eat up the last few innings of the game. He pitched well, giving up just three hits and one unearned run in his four innings of work. Most importantly, he gave his teammates an important day off to give his team a better chance of taking the remaining games in the series following this blowout. Low Morale, Low Offense After a brutal first inning, the Brewers strung together just three hits for the entirety of the game, plating one runner in the process. After a Brian Anderson walk in the third inning, he would get sent home by a Christian Yelich triple but it was too little too late. The team seemed unwilling or unable to fight the uphill battle that was in front of them. What’s Next? Colin Rea will try to help the Brewers put this ugly game behind them as they move to the second game of the series. Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson may be a bit of an easier test than Merrill Kelly was today but the team will have to put up a competitive effort on both sides if they hope to take down the current leaders of the NL West. With the Brewers’ loss and the Reds’ victory, Milwaukee now lags behind Cinicinnati by 0.5 games for control of the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Williams 0 23 0 11 0 34 Megill 0 0 22 7 0 29 Peguero 0 17 8 0 0 25 Milner 0 0 12 9 0 21 Strzelecki 0 0 21 0 0 21 Payamps 0 13 0 0 0 13 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Entering the weekend, both the Pirates and the Brewers were limping, and neither seemed especially secure in their grip on the top rungs of the NL Central ladder. By Sunday, the Crew made it clear that they are (at least among these two clubs) the real deal. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 103 pitches, 58 strikes (56.3%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.456), Jesse Winker (.219), Christian Yelich (.138) Bottom 3 WPA: Rowdy Tellez (-.258), Owen Miller (-.098), Joey Wiemer (-.093) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta Puts Up Power Performance Freddy Peralta’s nine strikeouts were incredible to watch over his six innings. He was able to get up to 98.0 mph with his fastball and still reached 96.6 mph on his 100th pitch. Despite his spectacular strikeout abilities, he still has issues with walks and giving up hard hits. Today’s two earned runs came by way of a two-run homer by Bryan Reynolds, a 415-foot rocket ship that left the bat at 110 mph. Peralta’s HR/9 and BB/9 currently stand at 1.6 and 3.5, respectively. Compared to the league-average figures of 1.2 and 3.4, Peralta is a subpar pitcher when looking at these figures. He is able to make up for it by having an above-average K/9 figure of 9.9, but his seasonal ERA of 4.60 is not quite what Brewers fans would expect from such a talented player. Relievers Lock It Up Hoby Milner, Trevor Megill, and Devin Williams kept up the recent trend of near-invincibility by the Brewers bullpen, pitching three scoreless innings while giving up just two hits and zero walks. Williams, in particular, chose to lean on his four-seam fastball today, instead of his usual changeup, using the Airbender just twice. After a three-pitch strikeout of Carlos Santana, he threw five consecutive four-seamers to Connor Joe, striking him out with an off-speed pitch. After getting Tucupita Marcano to fly out, he was able to get his 12th save of the season. Turns Out The Brewers Can Indeed Hit Baseballs After the Pirates took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning, it seemed like this game would be another episode of Milwaukee’s often disappointing offense. In the fifth inning, the Brewers would score on a Jesse Winker RBI single, but it seemed like a futile effort. For the whole season, the Brewers seemed to really struggle in the second half of games. The eighth inning was a welcome twist. The Brewers started with two consecutive walks by Winker and Willy Adames. A William Contreras single pushed home Winker to tie the game at 2-2, before another walk by Owen Miller loaded the bases. Raimel Tapia hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to record the second out and put the score at 3-2. Finally, a crucial single by Luis Urias would score Contreras and Miller, putting the Brewers in a dominant position at 5-2 heading into the ninth inning. What’s Next? While this series sweep was crucial for creating separation between the Brewers and the Pirates in the NL Central standings, the Cincinnati Reds have become the new threat, dominating the Astros and completing a sweep this past weekend to stay just 0.5 games behind Milwaukee for the division lead. Corbin Burnes will make the start tomorrow at home against Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Reds will start a series against the (likely) less challenging Colorado Rockies. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Williams 0 0 23 0 11 34 Milner 12 0 0 12 9 33 Megill 0 0 0 22 7 29 Peguero 0 0 17 8 0 25 B Wilson 23 0 0 0 0 23 Strzelecki 0 0 0 21 0 21 Payamps 0 0 13 0 0 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

Against the Pirates' ace, the Brewers were undaunted. They climbed out to an early lead, extended it, and cruised to a Sunday win on a Saturday. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 77 pitches, 46 strikes (59.7%) Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (10), Blake Perkins (2) Top 3 WPA: Wade Miley (.270), Joey Wiemer (.157), Rowdy Tellez (.080) Bottom 3 WPA: Jesse Winker (-.058), Raimel Tapia (-.038), Luis Urias (-.038) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Miley Masterpiece Wade Miley was untouchable over five innings, shutting out the Pirates in his start despite giving up a few baserunners here and there. Having just returned from the 15-day IL following a lat strain, this was an encouraging return to early-season form. After posting a 5.43 ERA in his last five starts (over 23 2/3 innings), the rest seemed to have done wonders for Miley’s pitching abilities. As usual, he wasn’t overpowering batters, just outwitting them. While he recorded just four swinging strikes, he earned 17 called strikes. He also used his cutter brilliantly, painting the edge of the strike zone and producing six instances of soft contact to get batters out. To make space for Miley’s return, Tyson Miller was optioned back to Triple-A. Miley currently has a 3.28 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over his 47 innings pitched. Bullpen Keeps The Buccos In The Dark Peter Strzelecki stepped in for 1.2 innings of relief, giving up just one hit and zero earned runs along the way. He followed Miley’s trend of soft contact, using his sinker and changeup to get three flyouts and a groundout. Hoby Milner recorded just one out in the seventh inning, giving up a hit and a walk along the way. Elvis Peguero and Trevor Megill would keep the Pirates scoreless for the remainder of the game, including Megill striking out three batters to finish the game in dominant fashion. Did I mention that he threw three pitches that clocked in at triple-digit velocity? It’s Big Boy Season For Tellez and Wiemer Joey Wiemer would score the first runs of the game, hitting a 366-foot, two-run home run to right field. More Milwaukee offense would come in the fifth inning when a walk by Christian Yelich and a single by Willy Adames would result in two more runs on a Rowdy Tellez double, bringing the score to 4-0. Finally, to tack on a final insurance run, Blake Perkins hit his second home run of the season while pinch hitting for outfield newcomer Raimel Tapia. It was an absolute moonshot, traveling 423 feet and being counted as a home run in all 30 ballparks. It seems the Brewers offense is starting to thaw out and warm up in this series, but there are still some clear issues. Many players, including Wiemer and Tellez, are able to hit for power but have low batting averages that drag down their offensive production. What’s Next? In the final game of the series, Freddy Peralta will take the ball against Luis Ortiz. Peralta, whose ERA and WHIP currently stand at 4.73 and 1.36, is hoping to bring his statistics closer to his career averages of 3.95 and 1.16. In the meantime, the Cincinnati Reds have officially relegated the Pittsburgh Pirates to third place as they now sit just 0.5 games behind the Brewers for control of the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Payamps 25 0 0 13 0 38 Williams 14 0 0 23 0 37 Milner 11 12 0 0 12 35 Peguero 6 0 0 17 8 31 B Wilson 0 23 0 0 0 23 Megill 0 0 0 0 22 22 Strzelecki 0 0 0 0 21 21 Sousa 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Haha, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words.

Milwaukee's losing streak extends to six games as they lose the second and final game to the Minnesota Twins in disappointing fashion. Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Colin Rea - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 90 pitches, 56 strikes (62.2%) Home Runs: Brian Anderson (9), Luis Urias (1) Top 3 WPA: Luis Urias (.070), Hoby Milner (.027), Bryse Wilson (.021) Bottom 3 WPA: Colin Rea (-.269), Owen Miller (-.112), Willy Adames (-.093) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Rea Gets Hammered In The Third After two scoreless innings, the Twins put up four runs in the third inning to take the lead. Colin Rea had looked solid all day but some good contact paired with a few defensive mishaps proved to be too much. Edouard Julien would start by hitting a double and Donovan Solano would follow up with a walk. Rea would get Michael A. Taylor and Alex Kirilloff to flyout and he needed just one more out to close out the inning. With runners on the corners, Carlos Correa hit a triple off of the wall in right field, clearing Brian Anderson’s head after a hard bounce and allowing Julien and Solano to score, tying the game at 2-2. Then, Trevor Larnach then hit a double to score Correa and give the Twins a 3-2 lead. Finally, Joey Gallo hit a single to score Larnach but was tagged out after failing to slide into second base. The Twins had extended their lead to 4-2 and while Rea would pitch two more innings before departing the mound, the damage had already been done. Rea’s ERA and WHIP currently stand at 4.71 and 1.26 over 57.1 innings pitched this season. Bullpen Keeps It Scoreless Brewers relievers would get the job done, taking over the final three innings and giving up zero hits, four walks, and zero earned runs. Hoby Milner, Bryse Wilson, and Tyson Miller combined to give Milwaukee as much of a chance to win as possible, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to make up for the mistakes in the third inning. Brewers Go Back To Back, But That’s It As has been a consistent theme this season, the Brewers offense started strong but trailed off into nothingness by the second half. In the second inning, Brian Anderson and Luis Urias would hit back-to-back home runs to take a 2-0 lead. It was also Urias’s first home run of the season after a lengthy IL stint. But that was it. After the second inning, the Brewers would have just one walk and one single for the remainder of the game. Willy Adames and Owen Miller went 0-for-4. Jon Singleton went 0-for-3. Joey Wiemer went 0-for-2. Milwaukee’s offense has just been freezing cold for the entirety of this six-game skid. What’s Next? The Brewers will get an off day before facing the Pittsburgh Pirates at home. Julio Teheran will toe the slab against a currently undecided Pirates starter. This three-game series will have major divisional implications as a sweep would put the Brewers back on top. However, the Cincinnati Reds are slowly but surely creeping their way up the standings as well. They are currently just one game behind Milwaukee. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Peguero 23 17 0 6 0 46 Payamps 19 0 0 25 0 44 Williams 23 0 0 14 0 37 B Wilson 0 12 0 0 23 35 Milner 0 11 0 11 12 34 Strzelecki 0 20 0 0 0 20 Miller 0 0 0 0 14 14 Megill 0 6 0 0 0 6 Sousa 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers losing streak extends to five games after a heartbreaking ninth-inning rally by the Minnesota Twins. Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 99 pitches, 69 strikes (69.7%) Home Runs: Christian Yelich (9) Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.410), Rowdy Tellez (.086), Joel Payamps (.083) Bottom 3 WPA: Devin Williams (-.916), Joey Wiemer (-.115), Owen Miller (-.082) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Puts Up Another Quality Start While he did give up quite a few hits, he still limited scoring and struck out eight Twins batters. After two scoreless innings, he gave up three consecutive hits to Michael A. Taylor, Edouard Julien, and Donovan Solano, batting in Minnesota’s first run. Carlos Correa followed by hitting a grounder to third base, getting himself out at first but allowing Julien to score the Twins’ second run. After cruising through innings four through six, Burnes attempted to extend his start into the seventh inning, but Kyle Farmer promptly sent him packing after hitting a home run to left field. Want to read this game recap from the perspective of a Twins fan? Check it out here! While he made mistakes, we again saw glimpses of greatness throughout his start. He recorded his first three strikeouts in the first inning and was using his rarely seen slider with lethal efficiency. He threw it just eight times and recorded five strikes, two balls, and a groundout. Burnes’s ERA and WHIP currently stand at 3.44 and 1.10 over 83.2 innings pitched and 14 starts. Brewers Take The Lead Early Milwaukee scored its first runs in the third inning where a leadoff walk and a single by Victor Caratini would be driven in by a Christian Yelich double to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. A Rowdy Tellez RBI single would bring Milwaukee to a 3-0 lead. Yelich continued the onslaught in the seventh inning, hitting a 401-foot 2-RBI home run to left field and putting the Brewers up 5-2. By the time Yelich rounded the bases, the Brewers had an 89.0% chance of winning the first game of the series. With just two more innings left, Milwaukee’s bullpen just had to bring the team in nice and easy. Even Gods Can Bleed Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, and Joel Payamps would get the job done in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and zero runs between the three of them. This is exactly what the Brewers wanted. They just needed to get the ball to Devin Williams, their lockdown closer who had been solid all year. He took the mound with a 0.42 ERA and it seemed like the game was all but over. Unfortunately, this is Milwaukee, so nothing can ever break our way. Let’s break down the series of unfortunate events that followed. Michael A. Taylor hits a home run. The score is now 5-4 in favor of Milwaukee. Edouard Julien walks. Willi Castro enters the game as a pinch runner for Edouard Julien Willi Castro steals second base Donovan Solano singles on a line drive to allow Castro to score, tying the game at 5-5. Carlos Correa hits a 2-RBI home run to walk the game off. Without recording a single out, Williams conceded four earned runs and almost single handedly lost the game. In an almost perfect depiction of the chaos of baseball, one of the best closers in the game today had one of the worst ninth inning relief appearances all season. Anything can happen in this game. Twins Fans Perspective from Twins Daily Our friends over at Twins Daily had a slightly different perspective on the end of this game. Check out the game recap over there to see how it differs. What’s Next? Colin Rea will face Bailey Ober in the second game of this midwest matchup and hope to escape with a much-needed win. The Brewers are looking to build up some semblance of momentum before facing the team’s division rival and current NL Central leader, the Pittsburgh Pirates. They currently trail the Pirates for the division lead by one game. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Milner 32 0 11 0 11 54 Peguero 0 23 17 0 6 46 Payamps 0 19 0 0 25 44 Williams 0 23 0 0 14 37 Megill 27 0 6 0 0 33 B Wilson 18 0 12 0 0 30 Strzelecki 0 0 20 0 0 20 Miller 10 0 0 0 0 10 Sousa 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

The somnambulists the Brewers currently call a lineup were unable to make up for yet another late bullpen slipup, as the Oakland Athletics (yes, them) clinched a series win. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 98 pitches, 65 strikes (66.3%) Home Runs: William Contreras (8) Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.332), Julio Teheran (.235), Devin Williams (.137) Bottom 3 WPA: Joel Payamps (-.300), Christian Yelich (-.269), Willy Adames (-.196) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Teheran Tosses A Terrific One Teheran was excellent in Saturday’s start, stretching out to seven innings while giving up just one earned run. After cruising through four scoreless innings, Teheran gave up two singles to Jace Peterson and Aledmys Diaz, before a ground ball by JJ Bleday allowed Peterson to score. If Andruw Monasterio had fielded the bouncer perfectly, the Crew could have turned an inning-ending double play to deny the tally, but the lost segment of a second when he let it find the heel of his glove proved costly. Teheran wasn’t able to match the blazing velocity of pitchers like Shintaro Fujinami or Joel Payamps, topping out at 90.7 mph on his sinker. Nonetheless, his craftsmanship and masterful control allowed him to get 12 swings and misses and notch six strikeouts. Contreras Comes Up Clutch After Oakland scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning, the Brewers would tie it up in the eighth inning off of a crucial pinch-hit solo home run by William Contreras. The ball was an absolute missile to dead center field, coming off of the bat at 109.3 mph and traveling an astonishing 440 feet. It had an xBA of 1.000 and would’ve been a home run in any ballpark. Extra Innings, Extra Disappointment Devin Williams was his usual self in his ninth-inning relief appearance, opposite the aforementioned Fujinami. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the same could not be said about Joel Payamps who would enter the game in the 10th inning. With a runner already placed on second to start the frame, Aledmys Diaz hit a leadoff single to drive in the go-ahead run. Payamps would escape the inning without further scoring by Oakland, but the damage had already been done. With just a one-run deficit, the Brewers rolled over and recorded three consecutive outs to end the game. What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will toe the slab against JP Sears in the final game of the series, as the Brewers try to avoid a sweep. If Milwaukee is indeed swept by the meme team of MLB, I’m not sure how I or anyone else on this site will react. Probably not well. The Brewers are now technically tied with the Pirates for the lead in the NL Central division, and we likely won’t see real separation until they face each other in a series next weekend. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Payamps 18 0 14 0 19 51 Peguero 15 0 8 0 23 46 Megill 17 0 0 27 0 44 B Wilson 0 0 20 18 0 38 Strzelecki 16 0 21 0 0 37 Williams 11 0 0 0 23 34 Milner 0 0 0 32 0 32 Sousa 0 25 0 0 0 25 Miller 0 0 0 10 0 10 Tweet Highlight View full article

The bullpen falters in the eleventh hour as the Brewers just barely fail to complete a series sweep for the second time in a row. Image courtesy of © Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK Box Score Starting Pitcher: Colin Rea - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 84 pitches, 59 strikes (70.2%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Colin Rea (.226), Willy Adames (.057), Elvis Peguero (.047) Bottom 3 WPA: Peter Strzelecki (-.564), Bryse Wilson (-.121), Rowdy Tellez (-.096) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Rea Has Best Start Of Season In a dazzling display of pitching prowess, Rea fanned eight batters while giving up just three hits and zero earned runs. Utilizing six different pitches, he was able to stay one step ahead of the Baltimore lineup for all five innings of his start. The last time he had a start that was almost as good was on 5/23 against the Houston Astros where he went 5.1 innings while giving up zero earned runs and striking out four. Rea isn’t a particularly overpowering presence on the mound but he’s been a reliable replacement for a rotation that has been ravished by injury. Since stepping up to fill his spot in the rotation, he’s posted a 4.47 ERA and a WHIP of 1.22 over 52.1 innings. Offense Warms Up Early, Then Disappears Into The Night The Brewers got the action started right away, scoring several runs in the first inning. After a lead-off walk by Christian Yelich and a single by Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez hit a groundout to score Yelich as the first run. Milwaukee would pile on the pain with three consecutive singles by William Contreras, Owen Miller, and Jon Singleton to jump to a 3-0 lead. The Brewers would fail to score for the remainder of the game but after plating their third runner, they had an estimated 82.9% chance to win the game. Their win probability peaked at 90.3% after the Orioles also failed to put up any significant offense and the Crew maintained their small but material lead. Bullpen Mucks It Up After a shutout sixth inning by Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps took the mound in the seventh and gave up a home run to Ramon Urias. He promptly struck out James McCann to end the inning and keep the Brewers up by two runs. The eighth inning is really where things started to fall apart. Peter Strzelecki gave up a single to Adley Rutschman and a double to Anthony Santander, allowing the Orioles to bring the score to 3-2. Gunnar Henderson would hit a crushing home run to left field to score Santander and himself, taking the lead and bringing the score to 4-3 in favor of Baltimore. Heading into the ninth, the game still seemed winnable as Milwaukee was down by just one run. As long as they kept the Orioles scoreless, they had a chance. Hoby Milner stepped in and got into trouble immediately. He walked Aaron Hicks and gave up a single to Ramon Urias. James McCann laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Hicks and Mateo, Urias’s pinch runner. Adam Frazier would then hit a 2-RBI double to bring the score to a dismal 6-3 in favor of the Orioles. In the bottom of the ninth, while facing a three-run deficit, the Brewers hit just one single in a sad attempt to save the game that seemed theirs to win. What’s Next? The Brewers will be hosting the always challenging Oakland Athletics in a three-game series with Adrian Houser taking the mound in game one against Luis Medina. The Athletics are riding some significant momentum after outclassing the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series, out-scoring them 24-12. Let’s hope the Brewers avoid a similar fate. Milwaukee currently holds a 1.0 game lead over the aforementioned Pirates to remain atop the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Strzelecki 11 0 16 0 21 48 Peguero 14 0 15 0 8 37 Payamps 0 0 18 0 14 32 Megill 0 11 17 0 0 28 Sousa 0 0 0 25 0 25 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 20 20 Williams 0 0 11 0 0 11 Milner 0 7 0 0 0 7 Cousins 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers might finally be fully awake again. Wednesday night, their bats were loud, and Corbin Burnes silenced those of the Orioles in a resounding win. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 96 pitches, 72 strikes (75.0%) Home Runs: Willy Adames (10), Joey Wiemer 2 (8) Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (.257), Joey Wiemer (.201), Willy Adames (.114) Bottom 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (-.051), Rowdy Tellez (-.038), Owen Miller (-.024) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Try To Be The King But The Ace Is Back Corbin Burnes was nothing short of masterful in this start against a tough Orioles team. Stretching his start to eight innings, he allowed just two baserunners and kept Baltimore scoreless until he departed the mound. His curveball and cutter were used with devastating accuracy, and he finally started to resemble his Cy Young self of seasons past. In his last seven starts, he has an ERA of 2.86 and a WHIP of 1.05 over 44.0 innings pitched. While blooming a little later than expected, his stats are finally starting to approach what is expected of the pitching phenom. His ERA and WHIP currently stand at 3.36 and 1.08 respectively. Sousa Gives Up Two, But Who Cares? Bennett Sousa was responsible for the final inning of pitching and gave up three hits and the Orioles’ only two runs. In his first four batters faced, he gave up three singles and a walk, giving Baltimore their first run. After Ryan McKenna grounded into a double play, Sousa was able to make up for some lost time but Ramon Urias was able to score, making the score a very competitive 10-2 in favor of Milwaukee. With the game on the line and in the biggest at-bat of his career, Yankees hero Aaron Hicks hit a weak grounder to end the game. I’m Telling You, It’s The Mullet The Brewers offense was dominant today, shelling Dean Kremer for six earned runs in his five-inning start. After he departed the mound, Bruce Zimmermann gave up another four over his three innings of relief. Willy Adames set the tone with a home run to center field that went 400 feet at an exit velocity of 104.7 mph. It was his first at-bat since being hit by a hard foul ball two weeks ago. Joey Wiemer followed up with a two-run home run of his own in the third inning, airmailing a ball 384 feet to right field. But wait, there’s more! Wiemer hit an RBI single in the fourth inning, a double in the sixth, and another two-run homer in the seventh, overshooting a cycle. He would end the game with an absolutely outrageous stat line of 4-4 with five RBI. The other four RBI came from a Jon Singleton double, a Brian Anderson single, an Andruw Monasterio double, and a Victor Caratini sacrifice fly. While Wiemer was the star of the show, the supporting cast all contributed in meaningful ways. What’s Next? The Brewers look to complete the sweep of the Orioles by sending Colin Rea to the mound to face off against fellow right-hander Kyle Bradish. Let’s hope Milwaukee is able to keep up this positive momentum and carry it through to the All-Star break. More importantly, today’s win allowed the Brewers to slightly increase their current lead in the NL Central to 1.5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Megill 35 0 11 17 0 63 Williams 26 0 0 11 0 37 Peguero 0 14 0 15 0 29 Strzelecki 0 11 0 16 0 27 Sousa 0 0 0 0 25 25 B Wilson 24 0 0 0 0 24 Payamps 0 0 0 18 0 18 Cousins 11 0 0 0 0 11 Milner 0 0 7 0 0 7 Tweet Highlight View full article

lol came here to write this exact comment.

Peralta had 19 swinging strikes, 15 of which were on his four-seam fastball. Was absolutely carving birds up with that pitch. His slider is usually a pretty dangerous weapon too but wasn't really working last night, mostly ending up foul or out of the zone.

In an exhilarating game that went into extra innings, Joey Wiemer and his new mullet pulled a timely single to walk it off in the tenth. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 98 pitches, 63 strikes (64.3%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Brice Turang (.264), Blake Perkins (.208), Christian Yelich (.188) Bottom 3 WPA: William Contreras (-.170), Owen Miller (-.160), Joel Payamps (-.141) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta Digs Deep To Strike Out Nine Freddy Peralta didn’t have an easy start against the Orioles, throwing almost 100 pitches in just five innings of work. His pitch counts per inning were as follows: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 13 30 21 15 19 A brutal second and third inning required some elbow grease, but he was able to get nine strikeouts and keep the Orioles to just two earned runs, both of which came during his Herculean effort in the second inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Austin Hays, followed by a home run by Yankees legend Aaron Hicks, but was lights-out for the remainder of his start. Despite his heavy workload, he was still able to show flashes of his 2021 All-Star self. He didn't issue any walks in his start and didn’t have a decrease in velocity. Toward the end of the fifth inning, his four-seam fastball was still around 95 mph. His last pitch, a swinging strike to Jorge Mateo, was actually his second fastest of the game, coming in at 96.6 mph. Peralta currently has a 4.55 ERA and a WHIP of 1.39 over 65 1/3 innings pitched. Bullpen Assembles The Dream Team The combined efforts of five relief pitchers held the Baltimore Orioles to just two hits, one walk, and just one earned run over the final five innings of the game. The lone run came by way of Joel Payamps, who gave Ryan O’Hearn his third home run of the season and the Orioles a brief 3-2 lead in the seventh. Peter Strzelecki was called upon in the 10th inning and kept it scoreless, striking out Mateo and getting Adam Frazier to flyout to earn the first two outs. After Adley Rutschman was intentionally walked, he struck out Josh Lester to give the Brewers the chance they needed to eventually win the game. Finally, Some Good Timely Hitting The Brewers started off with more offense in the first inning than they had in the entire final game of their series against the Cincinnati Reds. Christian Yelich led off with a double, and William Contreras followed with a walk. Brian Anderson hit a single that scored Yelich and allowed Contreras to move to third, whence he eventually scored on an Abraham Toro single. Luis Urias would load the bases after being hit by a pitch, but Brice Turang struck out to put a stop to the offensive threat. Heading into the second inning, the Brewers already had a 2-0 lead. They’d return in the eighth inning, A Blake Perkins leadoff walk and prompt steal of second base positioned him to score on a Turang single. That tied the game at 3-3 and after a scoreless ninth inning, we moved into extras. With Anderson starting on second base and Urias on first after walking, Joey Wiemer stepped up to the plate. With two outs on the board and the game in his hands, he struck a ball to left field that ended as a base hit, allowing Anderson to score the walk-off run. What’s Next? The homestand continues with Corbin Burnes taking on Dean Kremer in the second game of the series against Baltimore. With Tuesday’s win, the Brewers have reclaimed the lead in the NL Central over the Pittsburgh Pirates by 0.5 games. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Megill 0 35 0 11 17 63 Williams 14 26 0 0 11 51 Peguero 16 0 14 0 15 45 B Wilson 17 24 0 0 0 41 Strzelecki 14 0 11 0 16 41 Payamps 17 0 0 0 18 35 Cousins 0 11 0 0 0 11 Milner 0 0 0 7 0 7 Tweet Highlight View full article

I think I wrote about this before, but the Milwaukee Brewers are the worst team in MLB by far when it comes to hitting against left-handed pitchers. Their OPS this season against LHP is .617 which is the lower than the next place Rockies by 0.040.

After a weekend that hinted at a breakout for the dormant Brewers offense, Monday saw them take a bit of a nap to start the week. Image courtesy of © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 60 strikes (69.8%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Julio Teheran (.071), Trevor Megill (.017), Hoby Milner (.016) Bottom 3 WPA: William Contreras (-.138), Christian Yelich (-.137), Blake Perkins (-.096) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Teheran Does His Best, Just Not Enough Julio Teheran had another quality start, giving up just three hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits ended up in the seats. After the right-hander cruised through the first two innings with just a single baserunner, Stuart Fairchild led off the third by hitting a home run to left field. Teheran gave up two more baserunners that inning, but escaped with just one earned run after a crucial double play turned by Andruw Monasterio and Owen Miller. In the fourth inning, Teheran retired the first two batters, before giving up another home run to Tyler Stephenson, putting the Reds up 2-0. Both home runs were off Teheran’s four-seam fastball, which came in under 90 mph. He isn’t much of a strikeout pitcher and is below the league average on every one of his pitches, other than his slider. He does throw a nifty two-seamer from time to time, though. Milner and Megill Are Flawless, But Just Too Late Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill tagged in to finish the last two innings of the game, and they performed spectacularly. They combined for 1 2/3 innings and gave up zero baserunners, while striking out three. Milner’s weapon of choice was a deadly curveball-changeup combination that earned him the two outs he needed to finish the seventh inning following Teheran’s departure. He threw just two fastballs, a four-seamer and a sinker, in his outing. He also needed just seven pitches. Megill was the exact opposite, leaning on a frightening 98-mph four-seam fastball he used in tandem with a knuckle curve that hovered around 84 mph. He needed just eleven pitches to retire his three batters. Too bad they didn’t have the run support to get the win, as the offense would fail to overcome a measly 2-0 deficit. Cold Bats Waste Excellent Pitching The Brewers had three hits in the entirety of this game. Christian Yelich went 0-4 and struck out three times. Rowdy Tellez went 0-3. This lineup doesn’t just get cold, it gets Milwaukee-in-the-winter cold. Who knew a rookie pitcher could cut up a major-league team this effectively? What’s Next? The Brewers will start a series against the Baltimore Orioles, who are currently 37-22 and second in the most competitive division in baseball, the AL East. Meanwhile, the Brewers just ceded their top spot in the NL Central to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baltimore’s run differential is +30, the eighth-best in MLB. Milwaukee’s run differential is -21, the 20th-best in MLB. I think we have a great chance of snagging a couple of wins over the next few days. Freddy Peralta will take the mound opposite Kyle Gibson in the opener. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Megill 13 0 35 0 11 59 Peguero 23 16 0 14 0 53 B Wilson 0 17 24 0 0 41 Williams 0 14 26 0 0 40 Strzelecki 0 14 0 11 0 25 Payamps 0 17 0 0 0 17 Cousins 0 0 11 0 0 11 Milner 0 0 0 0 7 7 Tweet Highlight View full article