Way back on Saturday, the Brewers beat the Pirates 8-2, thanks in part to home runs by both Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun (and Brandon Boggs, but he's not relevant to this). Then, during yesterday's game, the FSN Wisconsin trivia question asked how many times both Braun and Fielder had hit a homer in the same game.
Turns out, they've done it 30 times since Braun's first game May 25, 2007. In those thirty games, the Brewers have a record of 21-9. So what happened in those nine losses?
JUNE 8, 2007: Brewers 6, Rangers 9
Clearly the problem in this game was not enough pitching. Chris Capuano got hammered in four innnings, allowing six runs. Jose Capellan would allow a run in two innings. And Carlos Villanueva allowed two runs (one earned) in two innings. This was back when the Rangers had Sammy Sosa playing for them at DH, which I had forgotten about. The Rangers didn't rely on the homer much in this game, as Ian Kinsler hit the only Texas longball and that was a solo shot. The Brewers got a solo home run from Fielder and two-run homers from Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. Something tells me those three have homered in the same game more times than the next trio.
Follow the jump for the other eight games.
JULY 7, 2007: Brewers 4, Nationals 5
The Brewers hit four solo dingers in this game, one by Braun, two by Fielder, and one by Johnny Estrada, who pinch-hit in the pitchers spot. Starting this game was Jeff Suppan who allowed four of the five nationals runs. The fifth was given up by Carlos Villanueva. Oddly enough, this game featured two very different styles of play. As mentioned, the Brewers hit four homeruns, all solo shots, that accounted for all their runs. The Nationals, on the other hand, had just two extra base hits--doubles off the bats of Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez.
JULY 13, 2007: Rockies 10, Brewers 6
Chris Capuano makes another appearance as poor pitcher of the game, this time giving up five runs in 3 innings. Of course, Carlos Villanueva--who has been in each of these games so far--was just as bad, giving up five runs in three innings of his own. All five runs that Villanueva gave up came on three Rockies home runs. The Brewers got a solo shot from Fielder and a solo homer and three run homer from Ryan Braun. Of course, the formula of Braun and Fielder hitting home runs and Carlos Villanueva giving up a run apparently seems to lead to a Brewers loss. These first three games, by the way, were actually the first three that Braun and Fielder had both hit a home run in. They wouldn't win a game until the fourth time that occurred.
AUGUST 6, 2007: Brewers 2, Rockies 6
Obviously both Braun and Fielder hit solo home runs in this game. This time, though, Villanueva didn't make an appearance. Instead, Claudio Vargas allowed six runs in seven innings. All six Rockies runs were scored in the first two innings, though, and five of those came on a two run homer from Matt Holliday and a three run shot from Brad Hawpe. The Brewers just couldn't get anything going offensively against Josh Fogg, picking up just six hits. Geoff Jenkins, who had two hits and a walk, was the only Brewer batterto reach base more than once.
AUGUST 14, 2007: Brewers 4, Cardinals 12
Damn it Capuano! This time, he gave up seven runs (six earned) in 4.1 innings. Manny Parra, Chris Spurlock, and Matt Wise all gave up runs, too. The Brewers were in first place at the time, too, but five game losing streaks from August 12-August 17 and August 22-August 28 along with a four game losing streak from August 5-August 8 all but doomed the Brewers chances at the playoffs in 2007, when they lost to the Cubs by just two games. Oh yeah, both Braun and Fielder hit solo homers. The only other runs from the Brewers came on a two run dinger from Geoff Jenkins. The Cardinals only extra base hits were two doubles as they picked up 19 total hits.
AUGUST 19, 2007: Brewers 6, Reds 7
Want to take a guess on who the starting pitcher was for the Brewers? Surprise! It was Chris Capuano, who gave up five runs in 6.1 innings. Scott Linebrink would follow him and give up the other two Reds runs in one inning of work. The Brewers hit Aaron Harang hard, though, getting six runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings. Fielder hit a two-run home run and Braun hit a solo shot, along with a solo home run from JJ Hardy and a two run homer from Bill Hall. Once again, all of the Brewers runs in this game were acquired via home run. Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips each had a two run homer for the Reds. 2007 was a bad year for Braun-Fielder HR days.
May 18, 2008: Brewers 7, Red Sox 11
Here's a curiosity: This game was played in Fenway (and was the infamous series sweep that led to Tom Haudricourt sourcing a blog and claiming Ned Yost was fired) and the Brewers needed a DH. On their bench, they had Craig Counsell, Gabe Kapler, Tony Gwynn, Jr, and Russell Branyan. Which of those four do you think that Yost chose to DH? That's right, Tony Gwynn, Jr, who went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Fielder and Braun both had solo homers, and Braun also contributed a two run homer. JJ Hardy also hit a two run homer. Yet another pitcher who has made numerous appearances in this post, Carlos Villanueva, started this game, going four innings and giving up six runs (five earned). Mark Difelice and Salomon Torres also struggled.
June 25, 2009: Brewers 4, Twins 6
Fielder's and Braun's home runs were solo homers, and Casey McGehee contributed a two run homer. Those three, of course, attributed for all four Brewers runs. The Twins, on the other hand, got a solo shot from Joe Crede and scored in every inning from the fourth to the seventh, scoring two runs in each of the bookend innings. Mike Burns started the game for the Brewers and gave up four runs in 5.2 innings, and Chris Narveson, Mitch Stetter, and Chris Narveson gave up two runs while notching just one out. Not really the most interesting game to look back on.
August 16, 2009: Brewers 5, Astros 8
Braden Looper gave up four runs in six innings and David Weathers--who I had forgotten was a Brewer that recently--gave up three runs in just 0.2 innings. Mitch Stetter gave up the only other Houston run. The Brewers did manage to hang five runs on Roy Oswalt, thanks mostly to two run homers by both Fielder and Braun, but outside of Felipe Lopez, who went 3-4 (as did Braun), the Brewers offense just couldn't get much else going. Batting ninth, Alcides Escobar drove in his first career RBI this day.
There you have it, 22 home runs from Fielder and Braun and 29 total Brewers home runs, all leading to nine losses.