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vs. |
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| 12-12 (3rd place, NL Central) |
9-15 (6th place, NL Central) |
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GAME 1: April 29, 2011 @ 7:05 p.m. CDT Minute Maid Park Houston, Texas |
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SBN Coverage: Brewers vs Astros coverage A View from the Other Dugout: The Crawfish Boxes |
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| Game 1 | Shaun Marcum (2-1, 2.73) | vs. | Brett Myers (1-0, 3.31) |
| vs. Astros | (0-0, 6.00) | vs. Brewers | (0-0, 7.11) |
| Game 2 | Randy Wolf (3-2, 2.64) | vs. | Wandy Rodriguez (1-3, 5.40) |
| vs. Astros | (1-0, 1.13) | vs. Brewers | (0-1, 5.14) |
| Game 3 | Chris Narveson (1-1, 4.33) | vs. | Bud Norris (1-1, 3.86) |
| vs. Astros | (0-0, 0.00) | vs. Brewers | (0-0, 0.00) |
We've already talked to Crawfish Boxes once in April, so we'll follow the recent trend and use the second matchup between the two teams to highlight some of the best Brewer performances against our friends from Houston.
As usual, these games are sorted by WPA.
5) Prince Fielder, April 23, 2011: +.565 WPA
The Brewers weren't able to come through with a win on Saturday, but they did get a massive performance from Fielder. He was already 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI when he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with Ryan Braun on first and one out. On a 3-2 pitch from Brandon Lyon, Fielder doubled down the line to right and Braun scored to tie the game.
Unfortunately, that was where the Brewer offense stopped. Fielder was stranded on third, the Astros scored in the top of the tenth and the Brewers were retired in order in the bottom half for a 9-6 loss.
Follow the jump for happier memories!
4) Prince Fielder, April 25, 2009: +.653 WPA
Sensing a trend? Almost two years to the day before Saturday's game, Fielder had another big game against the Astros. On this day he also went 3-for-5 but two of the hits were home runs, and one of them gave the Brewers the lead with one out in the ninth inning against closer Jose Valverde.
The Brewers went on to allow a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, but Ryan Braun's RBI single in the top of the eleventh gave the Brewers a 9-8 victory.
3) Richie Sexson, September 1, 2001: +.668 WPA
In his first full season as a Brewer Sexson was well on his way to tying Gorman Thomas' franchise record with 45 home runs. On this day he gave his total a boost by hitting two against the Astros. The second one was of the walkoff variety, as Sexson led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot to give the Crew a 4-3 victory.
2) Prince Fielder, August 6, 2010: +.732 WPA
Maybe the Astros should just walk Fielder in clutch situations.
The Astros appeared to have this game well in hand going into the ninth inning. They were up 5-2 and the bottom of the order (Alcides Escobar, George Kottaras and Joe Inglett) was due up against Matt Lindstrom. The Brewer bats came through, though: After Escobar grounded out, Kottaras drew a walk and scored on Inglett's home run to put the Brewers within one. Lindstrom then allowed a single to Rickie Weeks and walked Corey Hart to bring up Prince Fielder.
Fielder came to the plate 1-for-4, having already driven in Corey Hart with a fifth inning double. By the time this AB was over Fielder had driven him in again, this time with a two-run walkoff single to give the Brewers a 6-5 victory.
1) Ryan Braun, August 11, 2007: +.757 WPA
Braun's Rookie of the Year campaign gained a little more momentum on this day. The Brewers were down 4-0 after six innings against the Astros but rallied for seven runs over the game's final three innings. The second run scored on a Braun infield single off of Chad Qualls in the eighth, and the tying and go-ahead runs scored on his three run homer off Brad Lidge with two outs in the ninth. Fielder added a solo shot for good measure and the Brewers won 7-4.