Jason Wang

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 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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

Seems to be another guy with great stuff but some major control issues. Hopefully we'll put some balls in the seats.

Fastball spin is an interesting stat. Even though Peguero's sinker is a knuckleball compared to the rest of the league, he still creates -5 run value with it and has 5.9 more inches of vertical drop than league average. I imagine it comes out more as a splitter but unlike the other Statcast metrics, I always thought of fastball spin as one that is most subjective.

The Brewers won the third game of their series in Cincinnati on National Cheese Day, and look to complete the sweep of one of their division rivals Monday. Better luck to the Reds on National Gross Cousins of Chili Day. Image courtesy of © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Brewers won the third game of their series in Cincinnati on National Cheese Day, and look to complete the sweep of one of their division rivals Monday. Better luck to the Reds on National Gross Cousins of Chili Day. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser - 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 92 pitches, 61 strikes (66.3%) Home Runs: Andruw Monasterio (1), Victor Caratini (3) Top 3 WPA: Adrian Houser (.272), Andruw Monasterio (.234), Victor Caratini (.073) Bottom 3 WPA: Mike Brosseau (-.036), Brice Turang (-.029), Blake Perkins (-.028) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Houser Stretches Out Adrian Houser had a slightly longer start than has been his custom thus far, but was cruising for all seven innings. He gave up just one hit in his first three frames, while getting six batters to ground out. There was some trouble in the fourth inning, where a Matt McLain double and a Jonathan India single spelled trouble, but a flyout by Jake Fraley followed by yet another groundout that turned into a double play helped Houser get out of the jam. His one earned run came by way of a Fraley home run in the seventh, but Houser finished strong by retiring the final three batters in a row. It was a great bounceback performance following a brutal outing in Toronto that saw Houser give up six earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings of work. His ERA now stands at 3.45 over 31 1/3 innings pitched this season. Monasterio Starts Off With A Bang After his heroics in the first game of the series, Andruw Monasterio came up big once again, this time in the first inning. After Owen Miller and Jon Singleton both walked, Monasterio hit a monstrous 400-foot home run to center field. Although it would only have been a home run in seven ballparks, one of them happened to be Great American Ball Park, putting the Brewers up 3-0. This also happened to be Monasterio’s first career home run in the major leagues. Monasterio was later pulled from the game, following a collision at second base, but he needed just one at-bat to improve Milwaukee’s chance of winning by 23.4% Caratini Goes Long The Milwaukee lineup fell silent until the fifth inning, when Victor Caratini sent a ball to the moon, hitting a 429-foot home run to right field, a no-doubter that would’ve been in the seats in every ballpark. Milwaukee would tack on their fifth and final run of the game following an RBI single by Owen Miller, scoring Joey Wiemer who had hit a single of his own directly after Caratini’s home run. Speaking of Miller, while he continues to be one of the team’s best hitters (.319/.354/.478, 129 OPS+), he also made a great barehanded defensive play in the third inning. The fact that the Guardians often stashed him at first base last year made it easy to forget, coming into this year, that he has great defensive versatility. It's no longer easy to forget that. Bullpen Keeps Up The Good Work Elvis Peguero and Peter Strzelecki were called upon to wrap up the final two innings of the game, and did so without a blemish. Similar to Houser, they depended primarily on soft contact. Between them, they struck out just one batter but allowed zero baserunners. Strzelecki is overcoming a rough patch wherein he gave up 10 earned runs in his last 14 innings pitched, bringing his current ERA to 3.71. Things seem to be looking up, however, as over his past three relief appearances he has given up zero hits, zero walks, and zero earned runs. What’s Next? The Brewers will try to complete the sweep of this wraparound four-game weekend set Monday, as Julio Teheran takes the mound with an 0.82 ERA against recent call-up Andrew Abbott, a left-handed pitcher who posted a 3.05 ERA in Triple A this season over 38 1/3 innings pitched. Originally, the Crew was scheduled to face Hunter Greene; his start has been pushed back to allow him to recover from reported hip stiffness. The Brewers still maintain a 0.5-game lead in the NL Central over the Pirates, but have widened their lead to six games over the fourth-place Reds. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Williams 15 0 14 26 0 55 Peguero 0 23 16 0 14 53 Megill 0 13 0 35 0 48 B Wilson 0 0 17 24 0 41 Payamps 21 0 17 0 0 38 Strzelecki 11 0 14 0 11 36 Cousins 0 0 0 11 0 11 Milner 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

In an unusually early game leading into an on-site concert by the Zac Brown Band, the Brewers were as satisfying as a cold beer on a Friday night. Image courtesy of © Sam Greene-USA TODAY Sports In an unusually early game leading into an on-site concert by the Zac Brown Band, the Brewers were as satisfying as a cold beer on a Friday night. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 100 pitches, 59 strikes (59.0%) Home Runs: Joey Wiemer (6) Top 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (.524), Devin Williams (.150), Elvis Peguero (.150) Bottom 3 WPA: William Contreras (-.324), Brian Anderson (-.319), Victor Caratini (-.077) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Free Corbin Burnes struggled a bit with command, issuing free passes to four batters in the game. After the Reds scored their first run in the second inning on a close play at the plate, they scored two more in the third, thanks to a home run by Jonathan India that scored himself and Luke Maile. Both Maile and Luke Raley, who scored in the second, reached on leadoff walks. The cutter that led to the home run was thrown at 95.5 mph and was placed well, but had just one inch of horizontal break, giving India a perfect shot to blast into the seats. Despite this quick hiccup, Burnes finished the rest of his start without further damage, giving up just one baserunner (another walk) in his last three frames. With seven strikeouts and just two hits, it was actually one of Corbin’s better starts this season. Adios, and Vaya Con Díos After a Christian Yelich walk in the second, Joey Wiemer hit an absolute rocket to left field. It had an astounding exit velocity of 109.1 mph and a distance of 432 feet--a true no-doubter. Not only would it have been a home run in every ballpark, it had a rarely-seen expected batting average of 1.000, meaning every other batted ball with the same characteristics has ended up as a hit. After looking at it, are we really surprised? The crack of the bat upon contact is one of the best I’ve heard so far this season. Wiemer clearly has power, but is slugging just .366, primarily driven by his batting average of .201. If he’s able to improve his strikeout rate and find the barrel a little more often, we’ll hear that sound a lot more often in the future. McLain Lends A Helping Hand Cincinnati Shortstop Matt McLain made a crucial throwing error in the fourth inning to allow the Brewers to score their third run. After a Christian Yelich single, Andruw Monasterio hit a ball that was supposed to lead to a routine double play. After McLain made a wide toss that ended up past the first baseline, Yelich was able to advance to third base, while Monasterio moved to second base. Victor Caratini would later hit a ground out to first base that allowed Yelich to score the tying run. Monasterio Brings In The Win After both bullpens were lights out, the game went into the 11th inning after being tied 3-3. With a runner placed on second base, Monasterio led off the inning with a single that drove Brian Anderson to third before Joey Wiemer walked to load the bases. After two consecutive groundouts that scored Anderson and Monasterio, the Brewers brought the score to 5-3. Why was this important? If Monasterio hadn’t gotten on base, he would’ve served as the first out. Assuming everything else went the same way (i.e., Wiemer walks, Caratini and Turang ground out), Anderson would still score but the final out being a forceout would’ve prevented further runs from scoring, reducing the Brewers lead to just 4-3. Since the Reds scored a run of their own in the 11th inning, the game would have remained tied and they would’ve played a 12th inning, and we all know how "great" the Brewers have been in late innings. Overall, it’s safe to say Monasterio played a major part in winning the game for Milwaukee. Roll the Dice and Have Some Faith The Brewers called on the services of five relievers to finish this game: Joel Payamps, Peter Strzelecki, Devin Williams, Elvis Peguero, and Bryse Wilson. They would combine for just one hit, zero walks, and six strikeouts. Things got a little spicy in the eleventh after Wilson got two outs before allowing a double by Curt Casali to score the Reds’ extra runner, but he got Spencer Steer to ground out to end the game and earn his third save of the season. Craig Counsell had to take a bit of a chance by going to Williams in the ninth, knowing he would need someone further down the bullpen ladder to get the top and middle of the Cincinnati order out in extras in order to secure the win, but his faith was rewarded. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Peguero 0 0 0 23 16 39 Payamps 0 0 21 0 17 38 B Wilson 0 15 0 0 17 32 Williams 0 0 15 0 14 29 Strzelecki 0 0 11 0 14 25 Cousins 0 16 0 0 0 16 Megill 0 0 0 13 0 13 Milner 0 13 0 0 0 13 Tweet Highlight View full article

There's only one man who can solve all of our problems.

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 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. 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 some timely hitting and great pitching to contact, the Brewers have tied their series with the Blue Jays. Image courtesy of © Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports After some timely hitting and great pitching to contact, the Brewers have tied their series with the Blue Jays. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 79 pitches, 52 strikes (65.8%) Home Runs: Abraham Toro (1) Top 3 WPA: Julio Teheran (.242), Abraham Toro (.184), Devin Williams (.086) Bottom 3 WPA: Brice Turang (-.073), Rowdy Tellez (-.072), William Contreras (-.064) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Brewers Defense Was Working Overtime On his way to cruising through a six-inning start with no earned runs, Julio Teheran did not record a single strikeout. Of the 18 outs he recorded, six were flyouts, six were groundouts, and three were lineouts. In the remaining three innings of the game, Joel Payamps, Peter Strzelecki, and Devin Williams combined for zero strikeouts, meaning that the Brewers pitching staff did not record a single strikeout or walk in nine whole innings of work. Why work harder if you can work smarter, right? Julio Teheran has been fantastic since being signed to bolster an injury-plagued rotation, posting a 0.82 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP in his two starts so far over 11.0 innings. It’s Toro Time! In his first at-bat as a Milwaukee Brewer, Abraham Toro hit a 347-foot home run to right field off of Alek Manoah to score himself and Brian Anderson. Toro also hit a single in the fourth inning, going 2-4 with two strikeouts on the day. While a great start, it’s doubtful that he will continue this production consistently at the major-league level, and he could be sent back to Nashville once more players recover from their current injury troubles. In Triple A this season, Toro has slashed .258/.344/.352 over 183 plate appearances. In the seventh inning, Owen Miller continued his streak of dominance by hitting a 2-RBI double to extend the Brewers lead to 4-1. Are The Brewers…Bad? After this game, the Brewers maintained a one-game lead in the NL Central, but there’s evidence to suggest that this may not be the case for very long. At -24, Milwaukee are 21st in run differential in the major leagues and the worst in the NL Central. At .687, they are 26th in team OPS. They are 13th in team ERA at 4.13, but it’s clear that the offense is one of the worst in baseball. Part of this is due to the injuries suffered by key pieces like Luis Urias, Willy Adames, and Garrett Mitchell. The other part is a handful of players who are really sandbagging the rest of the team, namely Brice Turang (56 OPS+), Joey Wiemer (62 OPS+), and Tyrone Taylor (19 OPS+). Will the front office look to make some important roster adjustments to make the team more offensively competitive? What’s Next? Freddy Peralta will take the mound opposite Kevin Gausman in the third and final game of the series against the Blue Jays. Peralta has had a few rough starts recently, namely against the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, so here’s hoping he can bounce back in a meaningful way. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Williams 0 26 0 0 15 41 Strzelecki 13 16 0 0 11 40 Payamps 0 15 0 0 21 36 Cousins 0 0 0 16 0 16 B Wilson 0 0 0 15 0 15 Megill 14 0 0 0 0 14 Milner 0 0 0 13 0 13 Peguero 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article