Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Pitch slapped

Some things to read while touching that dial.

It was a different day but the same story for the 2013 Brewers, who led last night's game against the Cubs 3-0 but lost 6-3 after allowing five runs in the seventh and eighth. We've got the recap, if you missed it. Even Ben Rouse, who attended all 162 games in 2012, turned off last night's contest early.

Last night's struggles came to a head in the eighth inning, when Ron Roenicke asked John Axford to pitch multiple innings for the second time in three days only to see Axford give up runs and pick up the loss for the second time in three days. Roenicke defended the decision to leave Axford in the game by pointing out that both Jim Henderson and Tom Gorzelanny were unavailable and Burke Badenhop was being saved for the ninth.

Other notes from the field:

• Jean Segura was back in the lineup last night after missing Monday's game and went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple. He's one of the youngest Brewers ever to double and triple in the same game.
• We've got a look at the game's turning points.
• CoolStandings has the Brewers' playoff chances at 15.6%.

The Brewers and Cubs will decide the series tonight when Kyle Lohse takes on Scott Feldman at 7:05. Andrew Simon has the MLB.com preview.

Lohse, Wily Peralta and Marco Estrada now make up the entire list of Brewer starting pitchers who have had an effective outing in 2013. J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker looked back to Monday and has a post on what makes Estrada effective.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are going to have to wait a while for Chris Narveson's next quality start. He's expected to miss 4-6 weeks with his recent finger injury which landed him on the DL yesterday.

Narveson's timetable now means he'll rejoin the team at about the same time as Corey Hart, who isn't eligible to come off the 60-day DL until May 30. Assistant GM Gord Ash told Adam McCalvy that Hart probably won't be ready to play before his new timetable anyway.

Logan Schafer struck out as a pinch hitter last night, but his role as the Brewers' emergency catcher was still a source of some conversation: Ryan Potter of Beyond the Box Score has a look at the possible reasons why baseball has gone so long without a lefty behind the plate.

If you watched Monday's game you may have noticed Carlos Gomez smashing a bat over his knee following a strikeout. It was treated as no big deal at the time but Gomez's son apparently chewed him out for it and Gomez issued an apology on Twitter.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 1-1 last night but the loss wasn't Caleb Gindl's fault: He went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double in Nashville's 5-3 loss to Oklahoma City. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Brewer Baseball Operations Executive Dan O'Brien from before last night's game.
• Nick Cole of the Tennessean has a profile of Nashville pitcher Johnny Hellweg. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
  

In power rankings: View From Bernie's Chalet has moved the Brewers down from 15th to 23rd.

Around baseball:

Angels: Placed pitcher Jered Weaver on the DL with a broken (non-throwing) elbow.
Blue Jays: Signed pitcher Miguel Batista to a minor league deal.
Indians: Placed catcher Lou Marson on the DL with a neck strain and designated pitcher Robert Whitenack for assignment.
Rangers: Designated outfielder Julio Borbon for assignment.
Yankees: Re-signed pitcher Clay Rapada to a minor league deal.

Here's last night's action from around the Central:

• The Cardinals came from behind to beat Bronson Arroyo and the Reds, 5-1. (Red Reporter recap)
• The Pirates scored five runs in the fourth and held on for a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks (Bucs Dugout recap)
• And, of course, the Cubs beat the Brewers 6-3.

So here are today's standings and probables:

A few days ago I suddenly remembered a note from the offseason about new bullpen phones, and noticed they hadn't been installed yet. Craig Calcaterra spotted a tweet saying MLB is still testing the wireless technology and the old phones are still being used.

Today in baseball economics: There's apparently a dispute in play between Cubs bullpen pitchers, spotted chewing Double Bubble during last night's game, and the team, who has an exclusive gum sponsorship deal with Wrigley.

Today In Brewer History was off this morning, but Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's the 33rd anniversary of Sixto Lezcano's Opening Day walkoff grand slam in 1980.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to call the doctor.

Drink up.