Thursday's Frosty Mug: Evened out

Some things to read while going casual.

If you're rooting for the Pirates to win the NL Central, then last night's game might have been a little easier to stomach. Pittsburgh is back within half a game of the division lead after beating the Brewers 7-1, and Nicole has the recap if you missed it.

Other notes from the field:

• Aramis Ramirez was hit by a pitch for the 107th time in his career last night. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.

The series wraps up tonight when Yovani Gallardo takes on Gerrit Cole at 6:05. Kevin Massoth has the MLB.com preview.

Gallardo, by the way, is both the only Yovani and the only Gallardo in MLB history. He's one of three current (including Norichika Aoki and Burke Badenhop) and several former Brewers on Value Over Replacement Grit's list of unique names in baseball history.

Carlos Gomez had two hits last night but is still batting just .176/.296/.250 in his last 21 games. GammonsDaily.com notes that his .752 OPS since the All Star break is only the tenth best among MLB center fielders.

Aramis Ramirez was on base twice last night, getting a single in addition to the aforementioned HBP. Adam McCalvy has a look at how his numbers stack up against some of the game's all-time great third basemen.

Marco Estrada is scheduled to start the middle game of the Angels series this weekend as he looks to build on his recent hot streak. J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker says he's one of the key arms for the 2014 team.

We're just a few days away from September, which means roster expansion is coming next week. It's hard to tell what role he'll play, but it sounds like Mark Rogers will be a September callup: Mass Haas of Brewerfan.net has a look at his rehab situation, which calls for him to be activated from his minor league assignment at the end of the month.

If you've been watching the Brewers on FS Wisconsin this season, you'll likely find yourself nodding along with several items on this list: Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar has a look at some of Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder's favorite cliches.

In the minors:

• Congratulations are due out this morning to Johnny Hellweg, who has been named the Pacific Coast League's Pitcher of the Year. He posted a 3.16 ERA over 22 starts for Nashville, allowing just five home runs over 119.2 innings in the hitter-friendly league.
• The affiliates went 2-2 yesterday, and Alfredo Figaro allowed a single run on four hits over five innings in Nashville's 6-1 win over Oklahoma City. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has highlights and more from Wisconsin's 4-2 loss to Quad Cities.
• Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com took a look at the rosters for this year's Arizona Fall League teams and gave the Surprise Saguaros, the team the Brewers share with four other organizations, the league's lowest prospect rating.
• Wisconsin Sports Tap has a look at Nashville starter R.J. Seidel.
• The Boldt Company is donating 60 trees to the City of Appleton's Forestry Department in acknowledgement of 60 broken bats in Wisconsin games this season.

Around baseball:

Dodgers: Signed pitcher Edinson Volquez.
Indians: Placed outfielder Ryan Raburn on the DL with an Achilles strain.
Rays: Released pitcher Cory Wade.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Reds bounced back from Tuesday's loss with a 10-0 rout of the Cardinals on Wednesday. Jay Bruce drove in five runs as Cincinnati chased Adam Wainwright from the game with nine runs in the first two innings.
• Dale Sveum was ejected in the first inning and took the Cubs' bats with him as Chicago lost 4-0 to the Dodgers. Ricky Nolasco pitched eight innings in the game and held the Cubs to three hits.
• The Pirates, of course, beat the Brewers.

You can read about those games and all of yesterday's action on Noah's Thursday edition of Around the Bases at SBNation.com.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 16th anniversary of the first-ever meeting between the Brewers and Pirates. Today is also 2000-01 Brewer Henry Blanco's 42nd birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his nine career HBP are the fifth most ever for a player born on August 29.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go change.

Drink up.