What we learned: April 21, 2014

This Weekend's Results

Brewers 5, Pirates 3

In one of the most bizarre games that you will ever see, the Brewers pulled out a 5-3 win over the Pirates on Friday.  The game featured four errors, a couple of TOOTBLANs, and a ball that the cover came off of.  However, Kyle Lohse and the bullpen kept the team in the game, and the Brewers scored three in the fourth to take the lead that they would not relinquish.

Brewers 8, Pirates 7

The Brewers got a quick 4-1 lead, but the Pirates took the lead with a five-run fourth inning.  After expanding the lead to 7-5, the Brewers closed the lead to 7-6 on a Ryan Braun home run.  That was the score entering the ninth inning, when Ryan Braun hit his second home run of the day off of Pirates closer Jason Grilli to get the lead and hold on for the win.

Brewers 3, Pirates 2

After an early fight resulted in a few ejections, it was back and forth between the offenses for the game.  The Pirates scored first in the fourth inning, then the Brewers tied it with a Mark Reynolds home run.  The Pirates retook the lead in the eighth inning, but Ryan Braun repeated his previous night with a solo home run off of closer Jason Grilli.  The game went to extras and it was scoreless until the fourteenth inning, when Khris Davis hit a solo home run to give the Brewers the win.

A fight on the field overshadowed the Brewers series win.

The big news from the weekend may have come on Sunday afternoon.  In the third inning, Carlos Gomez hit a ball that he thought was a pop-up, so he ran slowly but started running faster when it became apparent that it was going to drop.  He made it to third, but a confrontation between Gerrit Cole and Carlos Gomez started in the aftermath of it.  In the end, Carlos Gomez, Travis Snider, and Jerry Narron were all ejected, and suspensions are expected to be issued as soon as today.  Carlos Gomez plans to appeal any suspension he is given, so he should be in the lineup today.  Gomez is definitely wrong here, the question is how others will be suspended.  Martin Maldonado should also receive a suspension, and ideally Gerrit Cole and Travis Snider will also get suspensions.  WE should find out sometime today.

Logan Schafer ended up on the disabled list.

The Brewers had their second in-season DL stint come up over the weekend, as Logan Schafer was placed on the disabled list.  He pulled his hamstring while warming up on Thursday, and with a roster move needed Sunday to reinstate Lyle Overbay from the paternity list, he was placed on the DL.  It's expected to be a minimum stint, as he shouldn't need the full 15 days to recover.  This will also give Elian Herrera a chance to prove himself over those weeks.

Jeremy Jeffress is back in the Brewers system.

After being outrighted by the Blue Jays and choosing free agency, Jeremy Jeffress ended up back in the Brewers minor league system.  The Brewers signed him into a minor league deal on Friday and sent him to Nashville for now.  He was traded away in the Zack Greinke deal, then went from the Royals to the Blue Jays.  Jeffress has a lot of talent but hasn't put it all together yet.  Plus, he has had troubles with marijuana before, and if he tests positive for it again the minors, will be banned for life.

Cram Session

The Pitching

• Adam McCalvy notes that with his save on Sunday, Francisco Rodriguez passed Goose Gossage on the all-time saves list.
• Back on Friday, after the bullpen's collapse on Thursday, Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker looked at the problems currently going on with the bullpen.
• After his disaster inning on Thursday, Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew defends Wei-Chung Wang and asks people to give him more time.
• As usual, the Brewers are looking to improve their team in-season.  One target is Joel Hanrahan, and Adam McCalvy notes that the Brewers were present to monitor Hanrahan at a showcase last week.
• Ryan Smith of Cream City Cables argues that the Brewers' chances of competing this season are dependent on success in the rotation.

First Base

• The first base situation has still been a problem for the Brewers despite the great start.  Pete Goodchild of Reviewing the Brew writes about how the hot start has hidden the problems at first base.
• There was a time where the Brewers considered trading for Ike Davis.  Adam McCalvy noted that the Brewers wanted to trade for him, but the price was too high.
• While there was no criticism of Lyle Overbay taking paternity leave, Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar wonders if there would have been some if the circumstances had been different.

Other Notes

• Adam McCalvy compares the Brewers start this season to their start back in the 1987 season.
• Carlos Gomez was distracted during Friday's game due to an issue at home, and Adam McCalvy has some notes on what happened.
• Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar recalls some of Bob Uecker's stories from a broadcast and takes a look at some of his career.
• Nathan Petrashek looked at Khris Davis over on Cream City Cables, and says that the expectations on him entering this season were too high.
• Over on Disciples of Uecker, James Langehr has some quotes and an opinion on the fight from Sunday's game.
• Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes about how Logan Schafer hopes to recover quickly from his hamstring injury.
• Benjamin Orr of Review the Brew is optimistic about the season, but also notes that the Brewers have some glaring issues that need to be corrected.
• Over on The Brewer Nation, they have a collection of highlight videos from Sunday's game.
• Hank the Ballpark Pup is getting a house in Miller Park.  The Brewer Nation has more details on the "Hank House".

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has a photo gallery form Saturday's Timber Rattlers game.

Check out morineko's daily minor league update for a more in-depth look at yesterday's minor league results.

Division Update

• Cardinals @ Nationals
  Fri: Nationals 3, Cardinals 1
  Sat: Cardinals 4, Nationals 3
  Sun: Nationals 3, Cardinals 2
• Reds @ Cubs
  Fri: Reds 4, Cubs 1
  Sat: Cubs 8, Reds 4
  Sun: Reds 8, Cubs 2

Today's Games

• Reds (Mike Leake) @ Pirates (Francisco Liriano) - 6:05 pm
• Cardinals (Tyler Lyons) @ Mets (Jenrry Mejia) - 6:10 pm
• Diamondbacks (Bronson Arroyo) @ Cubs (Travis Wood) - 7:05 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers return home to start a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.  It's a matchup of fastball pitchers as Wily Peralta (2-0, 1.96 ERA, 4.61 FIP) makes his fourth start of the season, and opposing is Andrew Cashner (2-1, 1.27 ERA, 2.48 FIP) for the Padres.  Adam McCalvy has the preview on MLB.com.  First pitch is at 7:10 pm.