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Brewers 6, Cubs 5

Win: Kameron Loe (1-0)
Loss: Kerry Wood (0-1)
Save: John Axford (3)

HR: Fielder (2), Braun (4), McGehee (1)

MVP: Casey McGehee (.566)
LVP: Craig Counsell (-.154)

Fangraphs Wonderful Win Expectancy Graph

Casey McGehee was hitting .206/.243/.235 coming into today.  He was slumping so bad that Ron Roenicke decided to give a day off to the man who only missed five games total in 2010.  Roenicke replaced him with Craig Counsell.  If you'll notice, Casey McGehee ended up being the MVP today while Counsell was the LVP.  That's what happens when you hit a two run shot over the right field wall with two outs in the eighth inning and the team down by one. 

  • Just one start removed from a complete game shutout, Yovani Gallardo wasn't on his game today.  He allowed at least two baserunners each of his five innings, and let 11 total Cubs on base en route to giving up four runs.  He also only struck out two hitters.  There were at-bats and pitches where Gallardo looked like dominant Yovani, but for the most part he just looked imminently beatable today.
  • Of course, this game was also an offensive tour-de-force; there were twenty-two hits and eight walks for a grand total of 30 baserunners between the two teams.  The only half inning without a baserunner was the Brewers sixth. 
  • Prince Fielder continued his torrid hot streak with a 3-4 day, including a booming opposite field two run homer.  With Ryan Braun also having a two-run homer all of the Brewers runs in this game scored on two run home runs. 
  • Yuniesky Betancourt had a very nice game today.  He had a single and a walk, but the timing of that walk was also very important as it came just before McGehee's homer.  He also had one very good and one interesting play in the field.  The very good one came on a flip from Weeks off a groundball that Betancourt caught barehanded for a force at second, then threw to Fielder to complete a double play.  The interesting play also came on a near double play as Yuni fielded a grounder, ran to second and barely beat the lead runner to the base for the force and threw just a millisecond to late to get the out at first.  Betancourt was also a part of a 3-6-3 double play.  
  • The Brewers are back to .500 with this win.

The Brewers have an off day tomorrow, then travel to Pittsburgh for a three game series against the Pirates starting Tuesday.