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W: Wily Peralta (1-0)
L: Tom Koehler (0-1)
S: John Axford (25)
HR: Rickie Weeks (15, 16), Corey Hart (27)
MVP: Rickie Weeks (+.425)
LVP: Kameron Loe (-.214)
Anything you can do, I can do better? Rickie Weeks hit two, two-run home runs. Corey Hart hit a two-run home run and a two-RBI double. Hart's double gave the Brewers some much needed insurance runs in the top of the ninth and all four of his RBI came with two outs. Let's call it even.
Wily Peralta performed better than anyone could have hoped tonight. He left the game with a 6-2 lead in the seventh having put two men on base.
Unfortunately for him, Kameron Loe came in and faced four batters while failing to record an out. That's right, I'm not giving him credit for the TOOTBLAN. Loe's four batters went: HBP, single, single, single. Charge one of those runs to Peralta and two to Loe. Credit Jim Henderson for coming in and inducing two fly outs. The first scored a run on a sacrifice, but Henderson got out of the inning in three pitches and his team still had the lead.
Back on Peralta, he gave up three runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts. His control was good and all his pitches were working. It was a solid first MLB start from a pitcher we weren't necessarily confident could pull it off. His first major-league start is his first major league win, likely thanks to a base-running mistake by Brian Peterson. He threw 95 pitches and 55 of them were strikes.
Francisco Rodriguez continued his inexplicable run. Other than that blip in Chicago last week, he hasn't given up a run in more than ten games. He mowed through the Marlins 1,2,3 in the eighth tonight and needed just 13 pitches.
Axford quickly got the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but then walked the aforementioned Peterson and needed11 pitches to induce Rob Brantly to pop out to Braun to end the game.
Aramis Ramirez was in the on-deck circle in the top of the ninth, but went back in the dugout and disappeared into the clubhouse and Jonathan Lucroy pinch hit for him. Rock and BA assume Ramirez is sick or injured and he was hit by a pitch earlier in the game, but it seemed to be a glancing blow at best. No news yet as to what the situation is there.