It's a Thursday afternoon, so the Brewers lose 5-1

W: Jake Arrieta (4-4)
L: Kyle Lohse (10-10)

HR: Carlos Gomez (21), Luis Valbuena (12), Nate Schierholtz (21), Brian Bogusevic (6)

MVP: Sean Halton (+.045 WPA)
LVP: Scooter Gennett (-.087 WPA)

win expectancy graph | box score

I think I knew where this game was going when I saw Luis Valbuena hit a solo home run in the first inning. I really knew where it was going when the Brewers failed to get on base against Jake Arrieta, and when they did, 1/3 of it was a Gomez home run. (Jeff Bianchi also hit a double.) Lohse really couldn't locate anything today and ran up the pitch count and gave up too many fly balls, but there's not much he could have done to prevent the Brewers from losing.

Donovan Hand is making me sad with the home runs. The home run, by Brian Bogusevic, was a work of awesomeness off the bottom of the scoreboard, one I would have enjoyed if it had been hit in any other circumstance but by an NL Central player against the Brewers. It also makes me realize that a pitcher with an Obligatory Home Run problem, like Hand and Oakland's A.J. Griffin, works a heck of a lot better as a starter than as a reliever.

Good things: Sean Halton's pinch-hit double (more starts for Halton, please! I realize today was Day Game Lineup, but he should be All the Days Lineup;) the continued existence of Carlos Gomez, both offensively and defensively. I know everyone loves when Gomez robs home runs, but seeing some of Gomez's normal outfield plays today made me realize just how valuable his everyday defense is. Or I'm comparing him to Alex Presley, whom I saw a lot of last week because I attended three Twins games in a row. I saw a better CF than that for Oakland--Coco Crisp--but Crisp still isn't as good as Gomez.