Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Interleague ineffectiveness

Some things to read while looking for a better signal.

There have been some dark days this season, but yesterday might have been the darkest: The Brewers were blown out 10-1 by the Astros last night and we've got the recap, if you missed it.

Juan Francisco had three of the Brewers' eight hits last night, including an unlikely triple to center. Adam McCalvy says Francisco is "starting to show off that power" in his last three games.

For what it's worth, last night's rout was only the second time this season the Brewers have lost by nine runs or more. They were also beaten 10-1 by the Cardinals on May 5. If that number made you feel better, here's one that will make you feel worse: The Brewers, after 69 games, are only one win ahead of Houston.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brewers are now 2-8 in interleague play in 2013.
• When Tom Gorzelanny hit Carlos Pena with a pitch last night, it was the 800th plunking in Minute Maid Park history. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
• Mark Attanasio was in attendance for last night's game. He's in town for an MLB event.

The series continues in Houston tonight when Kyle Lohse takes on Erik Bedard at 7:10. Kevin Massoth has the MLB.com preview.

The Brewers will continue play tonight without Ryan Braun, who traveled to Phoenix on Tuesday to get a second opinion on his injured hand. That's almost certainly not good news.

Jean Segura had a hit last night, but has fallen back to second place in the NL with 90 on the season. Yadier Molina now leads all National Leaguers with 92. Segura is still making an impressive impression in his first full MLB season, though: Stephen Loftus of Beyond the Box Score listed him among baseball's most unexpected top performers and Bill Ripken of MLB Network compared him to Ravens running back Ray Rice.

Segura most likely won't be seriously discussed on the trade market this season, but several other Brewers may be. Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo has a list of five teams the organization could be looking to deal with.

It's possible we're going to see wholesale changes in the Brewer starting rotation in the next couple of weeks, but nothing appears to be immediate: The JS reports that Chris Narveson and Marco Estrada are both at least one rehab appearance away from rejoining the team, leaving Saturday's starting spot as "TBD."

Looking further ahead, first base is one of several question marks the Brewers are going to have to address this winter. Kristen Zenz of PocketDoppler.com makes the case for Corey Hart to come back for another year.

In the minors:

• On the field, Brevard County kept their Florida State League playoff hopes alive with an 8-3 win over Lakeland. They remain half a game back of Dunedin with one game to play.
• Hiram Burgos made a rehab appearance for Brevard County in that game and allowed two runs on five hits over four innings.
• The Midwest League All Star Game was last night and Wisconsin pitcher Damien Magnifico pitched .2 scoreless innings for the Western Division team. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has much more from the event.
• Wisconsin outfielder Tyrone Taylor wasn't an MWL All Star, but Wisconsin Sports Tap is still pretty excited about him and took a look at his prospect status.
• Pitcher Johnny Hellweg has been one of the bright spots this season for Nashville, but he's been taking a break lately. He hasn't pitched since June 11 in an effort to keep his innings down, but Jeff Hem says he'll start on Saturday.
• Our draft signings thread has been updated this morning to include notes on four additional players: @Mass_Haas notes that 15th round pick David Denson and 36th round pick Jesse Weiss have agreed to terms, and the Brewers' official announcement was also the first we had head about 21st round pick Tristan Archer and 34th round pick Dylan Brock.

Around baseball:

Braves: Placed catcher Evan Gattis on the DL with an oblique strain.
Mets: Acquired infielder/outfielder Eric Young Jr. from the Rockies for pitcher Collin McHugh, designated outfielder Collin Cowgill for assignment and placed infielder Justin Turner on the DL with an intercostal strain.
Orioles: Designated infielder Yamaico Navarro for assignment.
Padres: Placed shortstop Everth Cabrera on the DL with a hamstring strain and signed outfielder Ben Francisco to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Placed utilityman Jeff Baker on the DL with a sprained thumb.
Red Sox: Placed pitcher Clay Buchholtz on the DL with a neck strain.
Yankees: Acquired outfielder Fernando Martinez from the Astros for a minor league pitcher, designated pitcher Chris Bootcheck for assignment and placed first baseman Mark Teixeira on the DL with a wrist injury.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cubs scored four in the first inning and rode that momentum to a 4-2 win over the Cardinals last night. Cody Ransom started at first base and homered for Chicago.
• The Pirates gained a game in the standings with a 4-0 win over the Reds. Charlie Morton pitched 5.1 shutout innings for the victory.
• The Brewers, of course, got embarrassed by the Astros.

I didn't do a Today In Brewer History for today, but via Plunk Everyone we do know that today is 1971-77 and 79-83 Brewer Jim Slaton's 63rd birthday, and his 48 career HBP are the third most ever for a pitcher born on June 19. Not to be outdone, 1989 Brewer Jerry Reuss is 64 and he leads that list with 59.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my bowl is empty again.

Drink up.