Jason Wang

After scoring three runs in the first inning, the Blue Jays failed to plate a runner for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, that shutdown was too little, too late, as the Milwaukee Brewers scored just one measly run. It's another series loss for the Brewers. Image courtesy of © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 85 pitches, 57 strikes (67.1%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.025), Joey Wiemer (.016), Trevor Megill (.011) Bottom 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (-.182), Freddy Peralta (-.137), Brice Turang (-.120) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Freddy Falters Early All three of Peralta’s earned runs scored in the first inning, as the Blue Jays got to work quickly. He gave up a 414-foot solo home run to Bo Bichette, followed by a single to Daulton Varsho and a 366-foot home run by Matt Chapman to give Toronto a 3-0 lead. Both home runs were off of his four-seam fastball, which has actually been his best pitch this season and throughout his career. Luckily, Peralta was able to complete his six-inning start without any further hiccups. He was officially credited with the loss, bringing his record to 5-5 for the season but trimming his ERA to 4.62 over 60-plus innings pitched. Bullpen Locks It Down Trevor Megill and Elvis Peguero took on relief duties, combining for three hits, two strikeouts, and zero earned runs. Megill had a relatively straightforward inning, giving up just a single and a stolen base to George Springer before striking out Bichette to earn the final out of the seventh inning. Things got a little stickier for Peguero, who started the eighth inning strong, getting a double play to retire Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Varsho. He followed that up by walking Chapman, giving up a single and a stolen base to Whit Merrifield, and then walking Cavan Biggio to load the bases. He escaped the jam by striking out Kevin Kiermaier to end the inning unscathed. He whipped out his slick slider when he needed it most. Romano Shuts Down Late Rally By The Crew Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano hasn’t been as dominant this year as he was last year, posting a 3.27 ERA, but he’s shown flashes of his intimidating stuff. The Brewers entered the ninth inning with a 3-0 deficit and a 3.1% chance to win the game with him on the mound. Things started off great. Rowdy Tellez hit a huge triple, his first of the year, to put Romano on notice immediately. Milwaukee followed this with a William Contreras walk before a Brian Anderson grounder initiated a double play that scored Tellez but drastically reduced the Brewers’ chance to come back. With two outs and still down by two runs, Andruw Monasterio struck out, dashing any hopes of a Milwaukee comeback. What’s Next? The Brewers will travel to Cincinnati to start a series against the division-rival Reds, with Corbin Burnes taking the ball against lefty pitcher Brandon Williamson. The Crew are currently the worst-hitting team in Major League Baseball, posting a .626 team OPS over 473 ABs, .027 lower than the next-worst Colorado Rockies. They still maintain a narrow 0.5 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates to remain on top of the NL Central division, but who knows how much longer that will last. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Williams 26 0 0 15 0 41 Payamps 15 0 0 21 0 36 Strzelecki 16 0 0 11 0 27 Peguero 0 0 0 0 23 23 Cousins 0 0 16 0 0 16 B Wilson 0 0 15 0 0 15 Megill 0 0 0 0 13 13 Milner 0 0 13 0 0 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

Pretty interesting thought here - Teheran's last truly full season as a starter was all the way in 2019 with the Braves and his ERA in the first three innings was 3.35 vs. 4.36 in innings 4-6. Looks like he might fit that middle ground of not having enough pure stuff to be an elite closer/short-reliever but not having enough stamina to go a full six innings every five days. Long reliever could be the move!

Brewers need our own Tungsten Arm O'Doyle honestly.

Hopefully it's sustainable!

After a lightning strike of a first inning, the Brewers failed to string together any semblance of offense, while the Blue Jays circled the bases with frustrating ease. It was a disappointing showing against one of the toughest opponents of the season thus far. Image courtesy of © John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 4.1 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 95 pitches, 57 strikes (60.0%) Home Runs: William Contreras (6) Top 3 WPA: William Contreras (.201), Andruw Monasterio (.028), Bryse Wilson (.016) Bottom 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (-.503), Darin Ruf (-.066), Joey Wiemer (-.041) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Has A Rough Night Heading into the game, Adrian Houser had impressive numbers. In a small sample size of 20 innings, he had given up just five runs, good for a 2.25 ERA. Tuesday was really his first bad outing of the season, giving up four runs in the first inning alone. Aside from giving up 11 total hits, Houser also made some small errors in his start--including a wild pitch that allowed George Springer to advance to scoring position, as well as this mistake while attempting to cover first base on a ground ball. Based on Statcast data, it seemed like he just wasn’t able to get his sinker to work properly, a horrible outcome given his usage of it on 37.7% of his pitches. Of the 38 sinkers he threw, here’s the breakdown of their results. In play, no out 8 In play, out 3 Foul 8 Ball 12 Called Strike 6 Swinging Strike 1 More hits than total strikes is probably not what you want to see from a starter. The strikes he did throw were clearly unable to deceive Toronto batters and were either fouled off or put in play. The Toronto Blue Jays have been a formidable offensive force this season, ranking third for team batting average at .266. On the bright side, Houser’s troubles came against a very dangerous opponent, and his sample is still too small for us to be able to confidently pass a verdict on his abilities for this season. As of now, his ERA stands at 4.07, and his WHIP stands at 1.60. One Inning Of Success, Followed By Eight Innings Of Struggle After William Contreras hit a two-run home run in the first inning, it seemed like we were off to a great start. With an exit velocity of 105.0 mph and an xBA of .900, it seemed like the jolt needed to start the series strong. And then, just like all too many games that have occurred this season, the lineup simply became unable to make quality contact, recording just two hits in the remaining eight innings of the game. They were able to draw six walks, only Darin Ruf struck out more than once, but it was obvious that Blue Jays pitching was beating the Milwaukee batters at almost every turn. Contrary to Toronto’s offensive prowess, the Brewers have the 25th-best team batting average in the major leagues, at .231. Cumulative production at the plate is similarly bad, posting a .688 team OPS that is also 25th-best. Monasterio Is Here To Play One of the standout players of the game was rookie Andruw Monasterio. In his first full game in the major leagues, he went 2-3 with a walk. Did I mention it was his birthday? Judging a player off of a sample size containing a whopping four ABs is probably meaningless, but given that Willy Adames will be out for a while with a concussion, there seems to be hope that his replacement may be able to fill the big shoes in front of him. What’s Next? Julio Teheran will face off against Alek Manoah in the second game of the series. Manoah has been uncharacteristically shaky this season, logging a 1-5 record with a 5.53 ERA. His struggles to deal with the new pitch timer and other changes may allow the Brewers to escape with a much-needed win and reignite their offense. The NL Central is starting to heat up, as the Brewers currently hold a one-game lead in the over the Pittsburgh Pirates and just a 4.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in last place. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Peguero 37 0 0 0 0 37 Strzelecki 0 13 16 0 0 29 Williams 0 0 26 0 0 26 Cousins 0 0 0 0 16 16 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 15 15 Payamps 0 0 15 0 0 15 Megill 0 14 0 0 0 14 Milner 0 0 0 0 13 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

Viewer discretion is advised, and not for the fun reasons. Image courtesy of © MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 91 pitches, 54 strikes (59.3%) Home Runs: Rowdy Tellez Top 3 WPA: Rowdy Tellez (.151), Mike Brosseau (.000), Darin Ruf (.000) Bottom 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (-.265), Brian Anderson (-.075), Brice Turang (-.059) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Gives Up Four Homers In one of his worst starts of the season, Corbin Burnes left a few too many pitches over the plate, giving up home runs to Corey Julks, Martin Maldonado, Mauricio Dubon, and Yordan Alvarez. By the conclusion of the fifth and final inning of his start, the Astros had a 5-1 lead and an 88.3% chance of winning. If you take a look at the pitch data, it’s clear that pitches were simply hanging. The first home run, by Julks in the second inning, was on a hanging sinker with just nine inches of horizontal break. Similarly, the home runs Burnes served up to Maldonado and Alvarez were on cutters with zero inches of horizontal break. After Monday’s start, Burnes went from a 3.48 ERA to a 3.97 ERA. Peguero Gives Up Four Earned Runs The bullpen's difficulty in withstanding some recent injuries has been a major contributor to the team's recent slump, and Elvis Peguero illustrated that. He came into the game with a stellar 1.42 ERA over 12 2/3 innings pitched. He left the game with 13 innings pitched and a 4.15 ERA. What happened? CJulks grounded out. Jake Meyers was hit by a pitch. Maldonado singled, advancing Meyers to second. Dubon walked, loading the bases. Alex Bregman hit a single, scoring Meyers and keeping the bases loaded. Peguero was replaced by Hoby Milner. Yordan Alvarez hit a grand slam. Peguero gave up four earned runs, and recorded just one out. The Alvarez grand slam was effectively the nail in the coffin, reducing the Brewers’ win probability to just 0.4%. At Least It Was A Group Effort? Just as they win as a team, they lose as a team. Of the 17 players in today’s game, 12 had a negative Win Probability Added for this game. Four of them had a WPA of .000, because the game was effectively over after the sixth inning, and then there was Rowdy Tellez, who hit a home run in the second inning. The other run was from a Tyrone Taylor double in the seventh inning that scored Brice Turang, bringing the score to 10-2. The Astros would go on to score two more runs in the eighth inning. What’s Next? Let’s just put this all behind us and hope that with a new day comes a new beginning. Colin Rea will face major-league newbie J.P. France in the second game of the series at home. In further depressing news, the Pirates won their game, so they and the Crew are now tied for the lead in the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Cousins 0 0 36 0 21 57 Strzelecki 0 18 0 24 0 42 B Wilson 0 0 39 0 0 39 Megill 0 0 14 0 23 37 Payamps 0 14 0 17 0 31 Williams 0 0 0 20 0 20 Peguero 0 0 0 0 18 18 Milner 0 0 0 0 9 9 Varland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Despite some quality hits by Milwaukee's lineup, Eric Lauer couldn't keep it close. The Rays took game two of the series, leaving the Crew to try to salvage one game in the set on Sunday. Image courtesy of © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Eric Lauer - 3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 71 pitches, 40 strikes (56.3%) Home Runs: Owen Miller (2), Brian Anderson (7) Top 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (.163), Bryse Wilson (.064), Owen Miller (.027) Bottom 3 WPA: Eric Lauer (-.460), Rowdy Tellez (-.062), Jesse Winker (-.056) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Lauer Gets Lit Up Eric Lauer didn’t have a particularly inspiring start Saturday, going just three innings and giving up six earned runs. Most notably, he gave up three home runs, two of which were off of his curveball. The most consequential home run was hit in the bottom of the second by Yandy Diaz and scored three runs, bringing the Rays lead to 4-0. With almost the same pitch placement, Lauer gave up another solo shot to Christian Bethancourt in the fourth inning. Both home runs were conceded on hanging curveballs that got stuck on the outside of the zone, perfect conditions for barreled balls and long shots. Lauer is throwing his curve way too often again this year, in that he's throwing it at all. As Matthew Trueblood wrote back before the start of the season, Lauer's curve just isn't a good pitch. Yet, he's throwing it about 15 percent of the time against righties, apparently afraid to deploy the reshaped slider he developed late in 2022. Last year, opponents slugged .600 on his hook. This season, they're slugging 1.310, which would be hilarious if it didn't hurt so much. Following a double by Taylor Walls and a single by Manuel Margot to score the Rays’ sixth run, it was decided that Lauer’s day would end early, recording just nine outs in total for the team in his start. His struggles continue, as his ERA climbs to 5.48 and his WHIP rises to 1.52. The Bullpen Was So Good…Until It Wasn’t To make up for the abbreviated start, Bryse Wilson tossed three scoreless innings, giving up just two baserunners in total. His Herculean effort gave me and Brewers fans everywhere hope for a potential comeback, especially since the bats were starting to wake up during his innings of relief, scoring some runs and bringing the score to 6-3. Nonetheless, all good things must come to an end. Jake Cousins would take the mound in the seventh inning and immediately get into trouble. After conceding two singles and a walk, the bases were loaded with just one out recorded. Cousins would walk the next batter, Isaac Paredes, and then walk Taylor Walls to give the Rays another two runs, pushing the score to 8-3. After two hits, three walks, and a clear decline in pitch quality, Counsell made the decision to replace Cousins with Trevor Megill who would finally strikeout Manuel Margot to escape trouble and end the inning. How rough was Cousins’s outing, exactly? In his one inning of relief, he threw just three fewer pitches than Wilson’s three innings of relief. Are RBI Popups The New Wave? All but one of Milwaukee’s runs were scored by home runs, a third inning solo shot from Owen MIller and a 2-RBI shot from Brian Anderson in the seventh inning. Miller’s home run was hit to left field at an exit velocity of 102.9 mph and a total distance 377 feet, good enough to be a home run in every ballpark except PNC Park and Oriole Park. He extended his hit-streak to 12 games. Anderson’s home run was a true no-doubter to left field, going 408 feet with an exit velocity of 102 mph. According to Statcast, this would be a home run in all 30 ballparks. But by far the most impressive RBI of today’s game was Christian Yelich’s RBI popup. After a shallow fly ball that caused the entirety of the Rays infield to converge, confusion amongst Tampa’s players caused it to drop on the grass harmlessly. This allowed Yelich to reach first base and Brice Turang to score the Brewer’s fourth run. Jesse Winker Is My Favorite Brewer Winker has always been a feisty individual, and while he is still looking to return to the prowess at plate that he had while on the Cincinnati Reds, he’s always been one to speak his mind. Today was no different. After a questionable pitch clock violation that had him start the at-bat with an 0-1 count, Winker argued that the only reason that he wasn’t in the batter’s box is because the Rays pitching coach was taking a walk to the mound. After striking out, he reignited the discussion in a calm, cordial manner and was subsequently ejected. It seemed like an unfair ejection to me, but what are your thoughts? What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will make the final start of the Rays series, as the Brewers look to avoid a sweep. Their offense continues to lag behind in the month of May, coming in 25th in terms of team OPS at .677. On the bright side, the team’s pitching this month is currently ranked 10th in the major leagues with a team ERA of 4.06. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Payamps 34 0 0 14 0 48 Strzelecki 30 0 0 18 0 48 Cousins 0 12 0 0 36 48 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 39 39 Williams 27 0 0 0 0 27 Megill 0 12 0 0 14 26 Peguero 23 0 0 0 0 23 Milner 22 0 0 0 0 22 Varland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

In what seemed to be the pitching duel of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers ultimately buckled in the first game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 84 pitches, 53 strikes (63.1%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (.335), Darin Ruf (.136), Jesse Winker (.115) Bottom 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (-.311), Peter Strzelecki (-.255), Tyrone Taylor (-.236) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Has Dominant Performance Adrian Houser looked incredible, tossing six scoreless innings and giving the Brewers one of the best starts of the season. While he didn’t rack up an insane amount of strikeouts, he conceded just five baserunners in total and didn’t give up a single earned run. The pitching duel was a real treat, as Shane McClanahan had a similar performance, giving up just six hits and one walk in his seven-inning start and also giving up zero earned runs. Ruf Has First Big Game As Brewer The lineup struggled as a whole to put up any offense, stringing together just eight hits and one walk, but there was one player in particular who had a standout performance. Darin Ruf went 2-for-2 with a walk, earning his first Brewers hit on the way. In his very limited four total games with the team, he’s slashing .250/.333/.250 for an OPS of .583. There wasn’t much else to say. Owen Miller extended his hit streak to 11 games while Christian Yelich, Brian Anderson, and Tyrone Taylor all went 0-for-4, although Anderson’s flyout in the seventh inning would have been a home run in 14 of 30 ballparks and had an xBA of .850. Similarly, Taylor’s flyout in the fifth inning had a total distance of 403 feet and an xBA of .880. Strzelecki Is First To Flinch After Houser’s scoreless six-inning start, Joel Payamps would follow up with two strikeouts and zero hits in his inning of relief to match McClanahan’s final scoreless inning. To start the eighth inning, the Rays brought out reliever Jason Adam who would strike out two and keep the game tied at 0-0. Peter Strzelecki would not be so lucky. After being hit by a pitch, Luke Raley would steal second base and take third on a throwing error by William Contreras. A sacrifice fly by Francisco Mejia would score Raley and serve as the Rays’ only run, which was all they needed to win the game since the Brewers offense failed to score any runs of their own in the ninth inning. What’s Next? In the second game of the series, Eric Lauer will face Zach Eflin as the Brewers try to maintain their delicate hold over the NL Central. After their vicious performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now tied for the division lead and are four games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Payamps 0 34 0 0 14 48 Strzelecki 0 30 0 0 18 48 Varland 33 0 0 0 0 33 B Wilson 33 0 0 0 0 33 Williams 0 27 0 0 0 27 Peguero 0 23 0 0 0 23 Milner 0 22 0 0 0 22 Megill 0 0 12 0 0 12 Cousins 0 0 12 0 0 12 Tweet Highlight View full article

In the final game of their pivotal series in St. Louis, the Brewers got shut out for the fifth time in 2023. They struggled, once again, both to hit with runners in scoring position and to handle left-handed pitching in general. Image courtesy of © Paul Halfacre-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 89 pitches, 58 strikes (65.2%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Owen Miller (.132), Jesse Winker (.076), Tyrone Taylor (.052) Bottom 3 WPA: William Contreras (-.177), Rowdy Tellez (-.142), Brice Turang (-.116) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Burnes Is Getting There Corbin Burnes made a strong start Wednesday, giving up just one earned run in the first five innings of work. After an RBI single by Nolan Arenado in the first inning (one that didn't leave the infield and could almost have been an inning-ending double play), Burnes cruised through the second and third frames. The fourth inning saw him get out of a bases-loaded jam by recording three consecutive outs, hyping him up like a kid on Christmas. A bit of deadly hesitation by Rowdy Tellez in the sixth led to a two-run home run by Paul DeJong and brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Cardinals, but Burnes earned himself a quality start by finishing that inning. In his three outings in May, he’s maintained a 2.50 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a K/9 rate of 9.5, numbers that paint an optimistic picture for the remainder of the season. Miller & Taylor Go Off, Other Guys Not So Much Owen Miller and Tyrone Taylor combined for five of the team’s seven total hits. Miller went 3-for-4 with a walk, bringing his batting average to .350 over 76 at-bats. Taylor managed 2-for-3 with a walk, to lift his anemic batting average to .196, almost over the Mendoza line. That’s pretty much all there is to say about the hitting for this game. The Brewers absolutely could not get things going until the ninth inning, when Jesse Winker and Miller both got on base, allowing William Contreras to step to the plate as the tying run. His strikeout and Willy Adames's lineout wasted the opportunity, though, and the game was lost. Trevor Megill Makes Brewers Debut After being designated for assignment by the Minnesota Twins at the end of April, Megill was picked up to bolster Milwaukee’s injury-ridden bullpen. Wednesday, he pitched one inning and was lights-out, giving up no base runners and notching two strikeouts. In 2022, Megill recorded a 4.80 ERA over 45 innings pitched with the Twins, but recorded a not-too-shabby K/9 of 9.8. He’s struggled with control, holding a strikeout-to-walk ratio of just 2.88, but let’s hope that’s a teachable skill. What’s Next? After a day of rest, the Brewers will fly to Tampa Bay to start a series against the red-hot Rays. Adrian Houser will take the mound against a starter to be named later. The Rays currently have a record of 32-12 and lead the major leagues in pretty much every offensive category, such as hits, home runs, RBI, and OPS. After the rough stretch of the past month, the team OPS of Milwaukee is 20th, coming in at .704 as opposed to the Rays’ team OPS of .859. Maybe there’s a silver lining somewhere? Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Payamps 19 0 0 34 0 53 Milner 27 0 0 22 0 49 Strzelecki 14 0 0 30 0 44 Williams 10 0 0 27 0 37 Varland 0 0 33 0 0 33 B Wilson 0 0 33 0 0 33 Peguero 0 0 0 23 0 23 Megill 0 0 0 0 12 12 Cousins 0 0 0 0 12 12 Tweet Highlight View full article

me after the sixth inning

The Brewers dropped the second game of the series against the Dodgers, after giving up four runs in the first three innings. They'll have to play a rubber game for the set on Wednesday afternoon. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Eric Lauer - 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 67 pitches, 44 strikes (65.7%) Home Runs: Rowdy Tellez (10), Victor Caratini (2) Top 3 WPA: Jesse Winker (.037), Elvis Peguero (.024), Christian Yelich (.012) Bottom 3 WPA: Eric Lauer (-.238), Willy Adames (-.106), Rowdy Tellez (-.101) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Lauer Has Shaky Start It was a relatively short day for both Eric Lauer and Noah Syndergaard, as we saw abbreviated appearances from both pitchers. While Syndergaard left after one scoreless inning due to a cut on his right index finger, Lauer simply had a rough outing. He gave up a leadoff homer to Mookie Betts, walked Freddie Freeman, let him steal second base, made a throwing error, then allowed him to score on a sacrifice fly by Will Smith. In the second inning, a double from James Outman and a Miguel Rojas single extended the Dodgers' lead to 3-0. In the third inning, Lauer yielded another home run, this time to Smith, giving the Dodgers 4-0 lead. Finally, after getting the first two outs of the fourth inning, he walked Trayce Thompson and was replaced by Bryse Wilson. It was clear that Lauer's stuff was lacking, and that an extended start would destroy the already paltry 12.8% probability the Brewers had of coming back after he left the mound. Lauer has historically performed remarkably well against the Los Angeles Dodgers, holding hitters to a combined .640 OPS over 263 plate appearances. History was just that, though, on Tuesday night. Bryse Wilson Has Shaky Relief Appearance Like his mound predecessor, Bryse Wilson gave up two earned runs of his own. In the sixth inning, a Max Muncy single followed by a Miguel Vargas home run essentially sealed the game, inflating the lead to 6-0 in favor of Los Angeles. He’d get James Outman to ground out and strike out Trayce Thompson to finish the inning, but at this point it was pretty clear that the lineup would be unable to generate the run support needed to come back after trailing early. After Vargas’s homer, the Brewers were estimated to have a 2.7% chance of winning, a prediction that was painfully accurate. To make matters even worse, Gus Varland threw an enormous 44 pitches in his four-out relief appearance, a heavy workload for someone who just got off the injured list. 40% Of Brewers Hits Were Home Runs! That’s Great, Right? This statistic would mean a lot more if the Brewers had more than five hits. After Syndergaard’s early departure, the Dodgers relievers got to work picking apart the Brewers lineup from top to bottom. Rowdy Tellez put the first run on the board for Milwaukee with a solo shot to center field. The ball had an exit velocity of 105.8 mph and a distance of 413 feet. Victor Caratini followed this up with a home run of his own, a 103.6-mph moonshot that traveled 398 feet to right-center field. Because of its placement, Caratini’s batted ball was a home run in all but two parks, Kauffman Stadium and Oracle Park, whereas Tellez’s home run was a home run in just over half of all ballparks. But there wasn’t much else to speak of by way of offense. Three singles and three walks would make up the remainder of the Brewers plate appearances, not nearly enough to claw back victory. What’s Next? The third game of this series will be decided by two of the greatest left-handed pitchers to grace the mound--Clayton Kershaw and Wade Miley. With Miley’s ERA at 2.31, he is clearly the superior pitcher in every way to Kershaw, whose ERA sits at a ghastly 2.53. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT B Wilson 18 0 0 0 35 53 Peguero 11 0 0 16 19 46 Varland 0 0 0 0 44 44 Milner 17 0 18 0 0 35 Sousa 0 0 0 30 0 30 Payamps 0 0 24 0 0 24 Strzelecki 0 0 21 0 0 21 Williams 0 0 14 0 0 14 View full article

The Brewers started the Dodgers series with a bang, putting on a show for the home crowd after the kind of week on the road that makes you miss home something fierce. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 94 pitches, 56 strikes (59.6%) Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (3), Willy Adames (7) Top 3 WPA: Joey Wiemer (.342), Freddy Peralta (.260), Elvis Peguero (.070) Bottom 3 WPA: Jesse Winker (-.051), Rowdy Tellez (-.046), Brice Turang (-.041) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Freddy Fans Five Freddy Peralta had an excellent showing on the mound Monday night, giving up just three hits and one earned run. His stuff was electric, deploying a blazing fastball that touched 97 mph and a menacing slider. Peralta stepped up in a big way against a formidable Dodgers lineup and never backed down. The one earned run on his record was the result of a double by Freddie Freeman in the top of the sixth inning, when he was able to advance to third and eventually score after back-to-back groundouts by Jason Heyward and Max Muncy. With Peralta's ERA at 3.32, we may see a return to his 2021 All-Star form. Since Corbin Burnes has been struggling more often than not thus far, he may even need to serve as the team’s new ace. The Boys Go Yard After four innings of what seemed like a building pitchers' duel, the Dodgers blinked first by giving up an absolute nuclear missile to your favorite rookie’s favorite rookie, Joey Wiemer. The ball had an exit velocity of 108.8 mph and a distance of 403 feet, granting it a .970 expected batting average and the status of true no-doubter, being a home run in all 30 ballparks. (Wait, does the fact that the expected average was .970 mean it was a "three-percent doubter"? Forget it. He's rolling.) The home run drove in Brice Turang and Tyrone Taylor, who had reached base on a fielder’s choice and a single, respectively. It gave the Brewers a crucial 3-0 lead and had a WPA of 21.7%. The seventh inning was more Milwaukee mayhem, as both Brian Anderson and Turang started off with singles. Anderson would score on a Wiemer double. Christian Yelich then hit a two-run single to plate Wiemer and Turang before the Dodgers made a much-needed pitching change, bringing Wander Suero to the mound. He didn’t fare much better. He walked Jesse Winker, then gave up a three-run home run to Willy Adames, inflating the score to 9-1 in favor of the Brewers. Man, where was this offense last week? Dodgers Use 2-RBI Homer! It’s Not Very Effective… After Peralta’s quality start, Elvis Peguero and Bennett Sousa would split up the final three innings of the game. Peguero was lights-out, giving up just one hit in 1 1/3 innings of relief. I mean, with a 96 mph sinker that has 20 inches of horizontal break, are we really surprised? Bennett Sousa had a bit of a rougher relief appearance. He was able to strike out Freeman and get Muncy to pop out to end the eighth inning, but a single to James Outman and subsequent home run by Chris Taylor is how he started the ninth inning. Nonetheless, the win probability graph actually stayed at 99.9%, and the prediction came true after Sousa was able to net the final outs. What’s Next? Eric Lauer will face Dodgers reboot project Noah Syndergaard in the second game of the homestand. Syndergaard currently has an ERA of 6.32 after six starts, and still hasn't been able to recover the fastball velocity he lost after Tommy John surgery, so he might be an easy target for a hungry and revitalized Brewers lineup. With Milwaukee just 0.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL Central leadership, it could be a pivotal moment in the season. That being said, the NL Central seems even weaker than usual, with the Pirates and Cubs losing seven out their last ten; the Cardinals floundering so badly that their fans are calling for manager Oli Marmol's job; and the Reds still being owned by Bob Castellini. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Strzelecki 27 0 0 21 0 48 Payamps 21 0 0 24 0 45 Milner 0 17 0 18 0 35 Sousa 0 0 0 0 30 30 Peguero 0 11 0 0 16 27 B Wilson 0 18 0 0 0 18 Williams 0 0 0 14 0 14 Tweet Highlight View full article

The Brewers finally find a win after a painfully long six-game losing streak to bounce back in the final game of the series against the San Francisco Giants. Image courtesy of © Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 87 pitches, 53 strikes (60.9%) Home Runs: William Contreras (2), Willy Adames (6) Top 3 WPA: Willy Adames (.188), Joel Payamps (.179), William Contreras (.146) Bottom 3 WPA: Tyrone Taylor (-.077), Brian Anderson (-.037), Hoby Milner (-.031) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Keeps It Cool In Season Debut Adrian Houser gave up seven hits but gave up just two earned runs. Since each hit was a single, he was able to limit the damage but his pitching began to deteriorate in the fifth inning and thus was pulled before he could concede any longer balls. He showed off some good stuff, almost touching 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and putting some great horizontal run on his sinker. As with any player returning from injury, the hope is that Houser has truly made a full recovery and will be operating within the starting rotation at 100%. To make room for his activation from the IL, Tyson Miller was optioned to the Nashville Sounds. Adames Was Tired Of Losing With 4 RBI, it’s no surprise that Adames had the highest individual WPA. The four RBI came by way of a sacrifice fly in the third inning, a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and a single in the ninth inning. In addition to putting his team on his back, an important individual milestone was met today as the home run was his 100th as a major leaguer. The home run had an exit velocity of 103.5 miles per hour and a total distance of 394 feet, good enough for a .730 xBA and to be a home run in every ballpark except Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Interestingly enough, his sacrifice fly had a higher xBA at .920, boasting an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and a total distance of 336 feet. William Contreras also had two RBI by way of an early home run in the second inning to score himself and Rowdy Tellez. The batted ball data on his home run was remarkably similar to that of Adames’s home run, having an exit velocity of 107.7 mph and a total distance of 396 feet. Christian Yelich joined the RBI party in the ninth inning by hitting a single to score Joey Wiemer and add an insurance run, bringing the score to 7-2 in favor of the Brewers. Williams Is Imperfect, Just Like Us After Houser’s relatively short start, the bullpen was tasked with finishing off the rest of the game and they passed with flying colors. Across the final four innings of the game, Hoby Milner, Joel Payamps, and Peter Strzelecki gave up zero earned runs, and struck out eight across the three of them. Joel Payamps especially played a crucial role in getting out of trouble in the sixth inning after Hoby Milner had given up a double to Wilmer Flores and a single to Blake Sabol. He did give up a single and was called for another balk in the seventh inning, his second of the series, but back-to-back strikeouts of Mitch Haniger and Joc Pederson nixed any hopes of any runs being scored for San Francisco. In more unfortunate news, Devin Williams gave up his first earned run today in the form of a home run to Thairo Estrada in the ninth inning. To make matters worse, it was crushed on his patented “airbender” pitch. His ERA for the season now stands at 0.87. What’s Next? After snapping what seemed to be a never-ending losing streak, the Brewers will face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers at home as Freddy Peralta will pitch opposite fellow-righty Tony Gonsolin. Perhaps a longer stretch at American Family Field will be what Milwaukee needs to return the win column on a more frequent basis. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Miller 0 12 0 31 0 43 Strzelecki 0 27 0 0 21 48 Payamps 0 21 0 0 24 45 Cousins 33 0 0 0 0 33 Milner 12 0 17 0 18 47 Peguero 16 0 11 0 0 27 B Wilson 0 0 18 0 0 18 Williams 0 0 0 0 14 14 Tweet Highlight View full article