Some things to read while getting immunized.
The Brewers only beat the Cardinals at Miller Park twice in 2013, but one of them came on national television last night. Noah has the recap from a 6-4 win.
Wily Peralta struggled through an abbreviated outing last night, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks over just five innings. After the game Ron Roenicke revealed that Peralta was dealing with a blister issue that hindered his control (h/t @Haudricourt).
If Peralta's blister issues linger, then it may open the door for Jimmy Nelson to get a chance in the season's final week. Ron Roenicke told reporters he's not sure how he'll get Nelson into the season's final seven games, but @AndrewGruman notes that this may be his opportunity. Nelson could also start in place of Johnny Hellweg, but he's apparently going to make his start in the Mets series.
Jim Henderson recorded the final three outs last night for his 26th save, but it wasn't easy. He allowed three consecutive singles with two outs in the ninth to bring Matt Adams to the plate as the potential go-ahead run, but struck him out to end the game. Henderson had allowed home runs in each of his previous two matchups with Adams, but said he was looking forward to facing him again.
And with that, the 2013 home schedule is in the books. The Brewers drew 2,531,115 fans to Miller Park this season, putting them over 2.5 million for the seventh consecutive season. That's more than the paid attendance of seven postseason contenders (h/t @MikeVassallo13). Martin Maldonado, Donovan Hand, Rob Wooten, Michael Blazek, Sean Halton and Jonathan Lucroy all took to Twitter after the game to thank the fans for their support this season.
Other notes from the field:
- The Brewers finished the season with a 37-44 record at Miller Park. (h/t @AndrewGruman)
- Howie Magner noted on Twitter that Norichika Aoki, Jonathan Lucroy, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez were the only Brewers to start both the home opener and final Miller Park game this season.
- Aramis Ramirez's six RBI this weekend gave him 1275 for his career and moved him past Gil Hodges, Pie Traynor and Tino Martinez for 111th on baseball's all-time list. He's now one behind Don Baylor and Hank Greenberg. (h/t @Buster_ESPN)
- Norichika Aoki's second inning double was his first since August 9. (h/t @AndrewGruman)
- Carlos Gomez went 1-for-4 with his tenth triple and 37th stolen base on Sunday. He's our reigning Brewer of the Week.
- The Cardinals made three errors yesterday in what David Pinto of Baseball Musings called "the worst defensive game I've seen the Cardinals play this year."
- We've got video from Ron Roenicke's postgame comments, and The Brewer Nation has more postgame audio.
- John Axford pitched the eighth inning Sunday and I'd agree with Howie Magner's assessment (via Twitter) that the crowd reaction was around 70% boos, 30% cheers. Axford also picked up the win on Sunday, and talked to Jen Langosch of MLB.com about the experience.
- The Bratwurst won 2013's final sausage race. The Brat also won on Saturday, while the Italian won on Friday.
- This was Fan Appreciation Weekend at Miller Park, which prompted Paul Czarnowski of Bugs & Cranks to stop by and be appreciated.
Let's put a bow on the Cardinals series with a look at the weekend's home runs, with help from Hit Tracker:
Day | Player | Distance |
Friday | Aramis Ramirez | 393 feet |
Saturday | No home runs | |
Sunday | No home runs |
The Brewers open their last road trip of 2013 tonight when they take on the Braves at 6:10. Marco Estrada will take on Mike Minor in the first of three games in Atlanta, and Adam Berry has the MLB.com preview. Noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's game a four out of ten on his NERD scale.
Tonight's game might also be Jean Segura's first opportunity to get back into game action following his hamstring strain. He's still not healthy enough to play the field or run at full speed, but Ron Roenicke said he could be available as a pinch hitter. At this point I think I'd prefer they wrap him in bubble wrap, put a "do not open until March" sticker on and ship him to Maryvale.
Meanwhile, Estrada's hot second half has likely earned him a spot in the 2014 rotation. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew says Estrada needs to step up next year.
Estrada will likely be joined on the roster by a fair number of the young players who have made a name for themselves down the stretch. Scott of PocketDoppler.com sees a lot of reasons for excitement in the way the Brewers have played down the stretch.
Speaking of the 2014 roster, over the weekend Alec interviewed Buster Olney of ESPN to talk about the Brewers going forward. They talked about Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and much more.
At least this makes the 2013 games go by a little quicker: The Brewers entered the weekend having walked just 6.8% of the time this season, which is on pace to be the lowest rate in franchise history. (h/t @JaymesL)
And at least complaining about bad at bats (or the contact play, of course) gives us a chance to feel something at all. The Brew Crew Project says agony is better than apathy when September baseball is concerned.
In the minors:
- Brewers minor league players of the year Johnny Hellweg and Jason Rogers and Pioneer League MVP Michael Ratterree were honored at Miller Park before Saturday's game.
- At least one 2013 Brewer minor leaguer is already back in the fold for 2014. Huntsville Stars pitcher Arcenio Leon has re-signed with the Brewers. He posted a 5.68 ERA over 35 appearances (ten starts) for the Stars this season.
- John Sickels of Minor League Ball is now accepting pre-orders for his 2014 Baseball Prospect Book. This is the one prospect book I buy every year, and I've already laid down the cash for mine.
If you weren't around the site this weekend you might have missed JP's look at what we learned last week. You can look high and low but you won't find a better recap of topics discussed in this space over the previous seven days.
Around baseball:
Phillies: Removed the "interim" tag from manager Ryne Sandberg's title.
Rays: Are expected to designate pitcher J.D. Martin for assignment.
Yankees: Pitcher Andy Pettitte will retire following the season.
Let's go around the NL Central:
- The Reds took two of three from the Pirates this weekend to remain relevant in the division race, wrapping up a series win with an 11-3 victory on Sunday. Six different Reds had multiple hits in the game.
- The Cubs lost two of three to the Braves, including a 5-2 defeat yesterday. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons had a pair of homers for Atlanta.
- The Cardinals, as you probably know, took two of three from the Brewers this weekend but missed the chance for a sweep on Sunday.
Here are today's updated standings and probables:
Team | W | L | GB | Today | Time | Matchup |
Cardinals | 91 | 65 | -- | v WAS | 7:15p | Adam Wainwright v Tanner Roark |
Pirates | 89 | 67 | 2 | @ CHC | 7:05p | Charlie Morton v Jeff Samardzija |
Reds | 89 | 67 | 2 | v NYM | 6:10p | Johnny Cueto v Aaron Harang |
Brewers | 69 | 86 | 21.5 | @ ATL | 6:10p | Marco Estrada v Mike Minor |
Cubs | 65 | 91 | 26 | v PIT | 7:05p |
The Cardinals grounds crew has some work to do to prep for tonight's game. Big League Stew notes that an FCS football game between Southern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri chewed up their turf on Saturday.
Today in baseball economics: It looks like they'll get there, but the Angels are at risk of drawing fewer than three million fans for the first time since 2002. They won the World Series that season.
Today In Brewer History was off this morning because I got in late last night, but Plunk Everyone notes that today is Jeff Cirillo's 44th birthday and his 67 career HBP are easily the most ever for a player born on September 23.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to change the channel.
Drink up.