Some things to read while asking all your questions.
The Brewers may have dampened the Reds' division title hopes a bit by taking two of three in Cincinnati over the weekend, including a 3-1 win yesterday. Noah has the recap, if you missed it.
The Brewers won yesterday on the back of a solid performance from Marco Estrada, who allowed just one hit and two walks while pitching seven scoreless innings, and struck out six consecutive batters at one point. He set a new Brewer season high with nine strikeouts overall (h/t @MikeVassallo13).
Other notes from the field:
- The Brewers faced Reds starter Greg Reynolds yesterday after Tony Cingrani was scratched and placed on the DL with a back strain.
- Norichika Aoki was out of the lineup again yesterday to rest his sore knee. He's been dealing with patellar tendonitis.
- Khris Davis' fourth inning double gave him at least one hit in eleven consecutive games. He's the seventh Brewer to have a streak that long or longer in 2013, joining Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun, Norichika Aoki and Aramis Ramirez. He also has the second-longest active streak in all of baseball.
- Davis was also hit by a 102 mph Aroldis Chapman fastball on Saturday, the season's hardest-thrown plunking. Plunk Everyone has the details. Todd Rosiak of the JS talked to Davis the morning after.
- Speaking of hit by pitches, Carlos Gomez and Norichika Aoki each got one yesterday. Plunk Everyone has more about that too.
- Joey Votto's solo home run in the ninth was the first extra base hit Jim Henderson had allowed since June 20 (h/t @joe_block) and the first run he had allowed in his last 14 innings. The Brewers' longest active scoreless streak now belongs to Burke Badenhop, who has gone seven appearances (8.1 innings) without allowing a run.
Let's put a bow on the Reds series with a look at this weekend's home runs, with help from Hit Tracker and Larry Granillo of Wezen-ball:
Day | Player | Distance | Trot Time |
Friday | Khris Davis #1 | 418 feet | 20.32 seconds |
Friday | Khris Davis #2 | 411 feet | 20.61 seconds |
Friday | Scooter Gennett | 350 feet | 20.08 seconds |
Saturday | Caleb Gindl | 367 feet | 20.64 seconds |
Sunday | Caleb Gindl | 386 feet | 21.72 seconds |
Davis is our reigning Brewer of the Week, and his three extra base hits over the weekend probably give him a pretty good chance of repeating this week.
The Brewers are off today before heading to Pittsburgh to open a series with the Pirates tomorrow. Kyle Lohse will take on Jeff Locke in the opener, and Kevin Massoth has the MLB.com preview.
Today's off day is probably a welcome development for Jean Segura, who is having his longest professional season just a few months after playing winter ball. Jeremy Warnemuende of MLB.com has a look at the dip in extra base hits for Segura recently. The Brewer shortstop is hitting .269/.303/.354 in his last 64 games, which is roughly what most of were expecting from him before the season.
The emergence of several young hitters over the last couple of months has left some pretty interesting possibilities open for next season. Platooning is one way to get a lot of bats into the lineup, but Bryan Koprivica of The Hardball Times has data showing that the Brewers are less likely to use that strategy than most teams.
The Brewers got a quality start from Yovani Gallardo on Friday night but it was a struggle, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings and needed 108 pitches to record 18 outs. Gallardo remains one of the Brewers' biggest question marks going forward, and Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew asks what should be done with him.
Elsewhere in starting pitchers, the Brewers appear to have passed on an opportunity to trade Kyle Lohse in the last month. Rumors are circulating that the Braves were the team that claimed Lohse off waivers, but the Brewers pulled him back before a deal could be completed.
Looking ahead to the offseason: Matt Sullivan of MLB Daily Dish has a list of 19 pending free agents that could receive qualifying offers from their 2013 teams this winter, including no Brewers. If you'd like the Brewers to make a splash in free agency this winter, odds are these are your candidates.
Now that I'm running out of other things to talk about, I guess we can discuss Ryan Braun:
- Ron Roenicke and Braun's Brewer teammates said all the right things on Friday regarding Braun's statement and apology from Thursday.
- Neil Weinberg of GammonsDaily.com says it's time to let go of your anger toward Braun.
- Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation has a look at the people who aren't forgiving Braun and why.
- Mike Bates of NotGraphs contrasts Braun's recent events with life lessons from a Braun card the Brewers gave to fans last season.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 2-3 yesterday behind a big day from Nashville third baseman Stephen Parker, who finished a single shy of the cycle in the Sounds' 10-5 win over Albuquerque. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has highlights and more from Wisconsin's 3-1 win over Kane County.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has interviews with Sounds infielder Blake Davis and pitchers Donovan Hand and Tim Dillard.
- Jason Arndt of Brewers Farm Report has an interview with 2012 first round pick Clint Coulter. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
If you weren't around the site this weekend you might have missed JP's look at what we learned last week, and my hypothetical consideration of a scenario where Ken Macha is the greatest manager in franchise history.
Around baseball:
Angels: Designated pitcher Billy Buckner for assignment.
Astros: Placed catcher Max Stassi on the seven-day DL with a concussion.
Braves: Placed pitcher Brandon Beachy on the DL with an elbow injury and acquired pitcher Freddy Garcia from the Orioles for cash.
Cardinals: Placed pitcher Jake Westbrook on the DL with a back strain.
Diamondbacks: Placed reliever J.J. Putz on the DL with a dislocated pinkie finger.
Mariners: Fired assistant general manager Tony Blengino.
Padres: Designated pitcher Edinson Volquez for assignment.
Pirates: Placed outfielder Starling Marte on the DL with a hand sprain.
Rays: Designated outfielder Jason Bourgeois for assignment and acquired outfielder David DeJesus from the Nationals for a PTBNL or cash.
Rockies: Placed reliever Rafael Betancourt on the DL with a right elbow injury and designated pitcher Edgmer Escalona for assignment.
Let's go around the NL Central:
- The Pirates won their first two in a four-game set with the Giants this weekend, but dropped the last two for a series split. San Francisco held them to just three hits in the finale, a 4-0 loss.
- Meanwhile, the Cardinals took three of four from the Braves at home, but lost the series finale 5-2 yesterday. Matt Carpenter's NL-leading 43rd double wasn't enough as St. Louis missed a chance to retake the NL Central lead.
- The Cubs are just 7-20 in their last 27 games following a 3-2, 15 inning loss to the Padres yesterday. The two teams combined for 21 hits and 15 walks in the game but somehow still went scoreless into the 13th inning.
- The Brewers, of course, took two of three from the Reds this weekend.
Here are today's updated standings and probables:
Team | W | L | GB | Today | Time | Matchup |
Pirates | 76 | 54 | -- | OFF | ||
Cardinals | 76 | 54 | -- | v CIN | 6:05p | Tyler Lyons v Mike Leake |
Reds | 74 | 57 | 2.5 | @ STL | 6:05p | |
Brewers | 57 | 73 | 19 | OFF | ||
Cubs | 55 | 75 | 21 | @ LAD | 9:10 | Jake Arrieta v Zack Greinke |
2013 Cactus League Brewer Donnie Murphy played all 15 innings for the Cubs yesterday and went 0-for-6 with an HBP, so perhaps he's cooling off. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com has a story on Murphy's hot start in Chicago, where he's hitting .282/.354/.676 through 19 games.
I've already mentioned the Cubs and Padres' marathon contest yesterday, but that wasn't even the weekend's longest game. Doug Kern of ESPN has all kinds of notes from the Diamondbacks/Phillies 18 inning, seven hour tilt on Saturday.
Now we go from a story about a long day to a short one: White Sox bench coach Mark Parent was ejected Sunday during the lineup card exchange, meaning he didn't even hang around for the first pitch.
Today In Brewer History was off this morning, but we still have some bits of history:
- Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's been 26 years since the end of Paul Molitor's 1987 hitting streak, 36 years since Robin Yount's worst offensive game (according to WPA) and 55 years since Milwaukee Brave Lew Burdette notched his 100th win.
- Today is 2005 Brewer Ricky Botallico's 44th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 27 career plunkings are the fifth most ever for a pitcher born on August 26.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see who's available.
Drink up.