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John Axford pitched the bottom of the eighth inning in today's game, his 18th appearance of the season. Just eight of those appearances have come in save situations, however.
All told, the Brewers have converted just eight saves (seven for Axford and one for Francisco Rodriguez) through 47 games this season. Entering today, only four other teams could match or exceed that claim:
| Team | Saves |
| Cubs | 6 |
| Blue Jays | 7 |
| Angels | 8 |
| Brewers | 8 |
| Cardinals | 8 |
The Angels got a save today, by the way, so now they have nine.
The Brewers are on pace to record just 28 saves this season. That would be tie them for the seventh lowest full single-season* total in franchise history and the lowest mark in 33 years:
| Season | Saves | Brewer Leader |
| 1979 | 23 | Bill Castro (6) |
| 1974 | 24 | Tom Murphy (20) |
| 1978 | 24 | Bob McClure (9) |
| 1977 | 25 | Bill Castro (13) |
| 1970 | 26 | Ken Sanders (13) |
| 1976 | 27 | Danny Frisella (9) |
| 2001 | 28 | Curt Leskanic (17) |
| 1973 | 28 | Frank Linzy (13) |
* - For the purpose of this conversation I'm excluding the 1994 strike-shortened season.