Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Segura steals the show

Some things to read while getting shut down.

True story: I've only left two baseball games early in my life. One was a Grapefruit League night game in 2004. My future wife and I left an Astros game in the sixth inning because we had an hour drive back to the hotel and a 6 am flight the next morning. The other one was last night, when I ducked out during the ninth inning with the Brewers trailing by a run and Yuniesky Betancourt due up.

I was actually pulling into my garage in Appleton as the postgame show wrapped up following last night's 6-5, 14 inning loss to the Twins. Eric has the recap, if you missed it.

So I didn't miss a Brewer win, but I did miss a bit of history. With a two-out single in the 14th inning Jean Segura became just the third player in franchise history and the first since 1993 to have six hits in a game. MLB.com has video of all six at bats. He's the first player to do that in the majors since Adrian Gonzalez did it in 2009, also in a game at Miller Park. He's the first player to do it with six singles since Skip Schumaker in 2008.

The biggest accomplishment, though, might be this one: Segura is the fifth youngest player in MLB history to get six hits in a game, and the youngest since Joe Morgan in 1965.

As is frequently the case, Howie Magner sums it up nicely in our Tweet of the Day:

Now 19-31. In 2012, #Brewers 31st loss didn't come until June 5. In 2011, not until June 16. It's a brave new season.

— Howie Magner (@howiemag) May 29, 2013

Other notes from the field:

• Jeff Bianchi scored the game-tying run in the ninth inning following his first career HBP. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
• Rickie Weeks made the final out in the eighth inning with a runner on third and is now 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position and two outs this season.
• BrewGIFs captured the essence of Carlos Gomez tipping his cap to Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks after being robbed of a home run.
• We've got video of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.
• Twelve inning games get an encore performance, so the Italian and the Brat won last night's pair of sausage races.
• Jim Owczarski has a Vine video of the handful of remaining fans leaving Miller Park slightly before midnight last night.
• The Brew Crew Project has a recap of the Miller Park half of this series.

The series moves to Minnesota today, where Marco Estrada takes on Samuel Deduno at 7:10 tonight. Jason Mastrodonato has the MLB.com preview.

Estrada and Kyle Lohse will start the games in Minnesota this week, and Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta and Mike Fiers will likely pitch in that order when the team travels to Philadelphia over the weekend. Fiers was needed for three innings in relief last night.

Carlos Gomez only had one hit in six tries last night, but his pair of home runs Monday came at the perfect time for narrative as he was facing his former team. Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk says Gomez has shed the bust label, noting that "only Mike Trout's historically amazing performance has kept Carlos Gomez from being the best center fielder in baseball for the past 10 months."

Aramis Ramirez went 1-for-5 with a two-run double and a walk last night, and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the day off today after playing all 14 innings. Ramirez is probably still the Brewers' best first baseman since 1999, when Jeff Cirillo became the team's last drafted third baseman to post a four-WAR season.

At least Gomez and Ramirez aren't the reason this team is struggling. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the 2013 Brewers are "the clearest example we've seen in some time of how a true stars and scrubs team would do. And the answer is not particularly well."

This dreadful month of May has many of us looking ahead to the long term future. Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo has a list of five players the team could consider dealing if they decide to rebuild.

In the nearer term, Corey Hart and Chris Narveson are both on their way back. Hart is traveling with the team on this week's road trip and could be ready to go on a rehab assignment soon, while Narveson will make his first of what's expected to be four rehab starts for Nashville tomorrow.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 0-4 last night but it wasn't Jimmy Nelson's fault: He allowed two earned runs over eight innings and struck out 12 in Huntsville's 5-4 loss to Jackson. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Wisconsin lost a chance for a win last night when their game with Beloit ended early with the Rattlers trailing 6-5. Rattler Radio has more on the contest.
• Fortunately, we won't have to wait long for the minor leaguers to get another shot at a win. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has lineups and more for Wisconsin's 11 am rematch with Beloit today.
• Steve Clark of the Fond du Lac Reporter has a story on local product and 2013 Brevard County Manatee Chad Pierce. (FanShot)
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff hem has an interview with Sounds athletic trainer Aaron Hoback.
• Alec Dopp has another look at some players the Brewers may consider drafting in the second round next week.

Back in Milwaukee, Ryan Braun deserves some credit for helping the Brewers avoid a promotional embarrassment. For years now they've offered a "Brewers Win, You Win" discount where fans can take a dollar off tickets for a series in June for every Brewer win in May. The Brewers' 5-20 month dampened enthusiasm for that program a bit, so Braun has stepped in to help match the difference.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in our BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day and results will be posted tomorrow.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Designated first baseman Clint Robinson and pitcher Ramon Ortiz for assignment.
Padres: Designated infielder Edinson Rincon for assignment.
Pirates: Placed pitcher Jose Contreras on the DL with a back injury.
Yankees: Designated pitcher David Huff for assignment.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals completed a sweep of the road half of their home-and-home with the Royals with a 4-1 win last night. Tyler Lyons and a pair of relievers combined to pitch a two-hitter for the victory.
• The Reds kept pace with an 8-2 win over the Indians, collecting 18 hits. Seven different Reds had multi-hit games.
• The Pirates won the night's best pitching duel, beating the Tigers 1-0 in eleven innings. Neil Walker's home run broke the tie.
• The Brewers, of course, played the night's longest game in their 14 inning loss to the Twins.
• The Cubs and White Sox were postponed by rain.

Here are today's standings and probables:

Today in former Brewers: Parker Hageman of Twins Daily talked to former Brewer and current Twins broadcaster Cory Provus about the role of statistics in a radio broadcast.

Today in Brewer History is off this morning but today is 2000 Brewer Charlie Hayes' 48th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 21 career HBP are the fourth most ever for a player born on May 29.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to move on.

Drink up.