What we learned: July 7, 2014

This Weekend's Results

Reds 4, Brewers 2

Kyle Lohse gave up four runs in five innings, the first two from a Billy Hamilton home run followed by single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Meanwhile, the Brewers offense struggled, only able to put up single runs in the seventh and eight innings.

Brewers 1, Reds 0

The Brewers got on the board early with an RBI single from Aramis Ramirez. That was all they could get off of Reds starter Homer Bailey, who pitched eight innings and allowed only that single run. However, Matt Garza was better, pitching a complete game two-hit shutout to get the Brewers the win.

Reds 4, Brewers 2

Yovani Gallardo put together a solid start, allowing two runs in six innings. The Brewers offense was held in check until the fifth inning, when they got their first hit. They tied the game at 2 from runs by Logan Schafer. However, Jay Bruce hit a two-run home run off of Will Smith to go ahead 4-2, and Jonathan Broxton closed out the game for the Reds.

Four Brewers were named to the NL All-Star Team.

The MLB All-Star rosters were named last night, and four Brewers ended up making the team. Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez were both named as starters to the NL team, Jonathan Lucroy made the team as a reserve, and Francisco Rodriguez was added to the pitching staff. On the other side, candidate from the Brewers left off the roster were Kyle Lohse, Zach Duke, Will Smith, and Ryan Braun. There's still a chance that one of those pitchers could make the roster as replacements are needed, but for now, those are your four selections to the team.

Logan Schafer made his return to Milwaukee.

Going back to Friday of last week, the Brewers made a roster move in the wake of Khris Davis' shoulder injury. They recalled Logan Schafer from Nashville and demoted Elian Herrera. The Brewers needed another true outfielders with Davis' injury, and Schafer had been playing well in Triple-A. He ended up playing 26 of 27 innings over the weekend, getting the start in left on Friday, then replacing Ryan Braun in right on Saturday and Sunday. He went 2-for-9 over the weekend with two runs scored.

Cram Session

More from BCB

• Our midseason review series of the Brewers continued on Thursday and Friday. My take on the season was posted on Thursday, and Nate joined in with his take on Friday.
• The Brewers are in their final stretch of games before the All-Star Break. On Friday, I looked at the importance behind these 10 games for the Brewers.

Gilbert Lara Signing

• The Brewers have not officially announced the GIlbert Lara signing yet, and Derek Harvey speculates it might be because the Brewers are trying to gain some cap space.
• Wendy Thurm of FanGraphs looked at the spending going on in the international free agent period and says the new limits aren't stopping teams from spending as much as they want.
• Is it a mistake to give a Dominican teenager millions of dollars? Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar looks at this possibility.

All-Star Game

• Adam McCalvy reports that Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun spoke to Troy Tulowitzki about getting Gomez in the Home Run Derby.
• On Saturday, Bryan Grosnick of Beyond the Box Score revealed their staff's choices for the NL All-Star starters.
• Badgernoonan of Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball has a proposal on how to break the All-Star Game.

Other Notes

• Ryan Braun left Saturday's game with back spasms, but Adam McCalvy reports that Braun believes it is a minor issue.
• A home run call was overruled in Sunday's game by replay, ruling that fan interference prevented an out from being recorded.
• Jonathan Lucroy has been performing very well at the plate lately, and McCalvy notes that he is the only player with more extra-base hits than strikeouts.
• Grant Brisbee of SB Nation presented his midseason NL awards, which include a couple of Brewers.
• Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a trade deadline preview for the Brewers.
• Richard Justice of MLB.com looks at how the Brewers are an example of competitive balance this season.
• Mike Oz of Big League Stew reports that MLB has not finished its Biogenesis investigation, and is currently investigating agents with clients tied to Biogenesis.
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has the month of June's wildest pitches and wildest swings, which involves two pitches from two Brewers pitchers.
• In power rankings, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel kept the Brewers at #1 in the National League.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• Alec Dopp put together his June list of hot & not minor-league players on Thursday.
• Hunter Morris of Nashville is expected to be out for six weeks with a broken arm. Adam McCalvy has some notes on Morris' injury as well as a few other minor-league injuries.
• Jim Henderson has started a rehab assignment with the Arizona rookie team.
• The PCL All-Star rosters were announced on Thursday, and Jimmy Nelson and Donovan Hand of the Nashville Sounds were named to the roster. Marcus Young of Miller Park Prospects has the details.
• The Brewers organization announced their June awards, splitting pitcher of the month between Jimmy Nelson and Taylor Williams, and giving player of the month to Orlando Arcia.
• Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew continued his series of the top Brewers farm teams with the 2012 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looked back at the 2009 draft and some of the talent that the Brewers found there.

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

Division Update

• Phillies @ Pirates
  Friday: Pirates 8, Phillies 2
  Saturday: Pirates 3, Phillies 2
  Sunday: Pirates 6, Phillies 2
• Marlins @ Cardinals
  Friday: Cardinals 3, Marlins 2
  Saturday: Marlins 6, Cardinals 5
  Sunday: Marlins 8, Cardinals 4
• Cubs @ Nationals
  Friday: Cubs 7, Nationals 2
  Saturday: Nationals 13, Cubs 0
  Sunday: Nationals 2, Cubs 1

Today's Division Games

• Cubs (Edwin Jackson) @ Reds (Mike Leake) - 6:10 pm
• Pirates (Charlie Morton) @ Cardinals (Adam Wainwright) - 7:15 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers start a seven-game home stand to finish off the season before the All-Star Break. They open up with a four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Game one features Cole Hamels against Marco Estrada. First pitch is at 7:10 pm, and Erik Bacharach of MLB.com has the preview.