What we learned: July 9, 2014

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 9, Phillies 7

The Brewers stormed out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning thanks to home runs from Scooter Gennett and Lyle Overbay. Unfortunately, the Phillies responded right away with five runs in the top of the second, and eventually built their lead up to 9-5. The Brewers would rally thanks to a Mark Reynolds home run, but they couldn't close the gap and ended up losing for the seventh time in their last eight games.

Jimmy Nelson may be coming to Milwaukee soon.

The rotation has struggled a little in the past few weeks, and Marco Estrada has been struggling all season. With the Brewers contending, the question is how long they can let Estrada struggle in the rotation. With Jimmy Nelson performing well in Nashville, there have been plenty of people calling for him to join the rotation. Yesterday. prior to the game, some quotes came out from Ron Roenicke saying that they are discussing what to do with Nelson. They have not made a decision to promote Nelson yet, but if Estrada can't turn it around soon, the move could be coming. At this point, it's looking more like a question of when Nelson will be promoted.

The Brewers don't have enough to acquire David Price.

The David Price rumors have been going around lately, and the Brewers have been one of the teams tied to him. Even though he would be a good upgrade for the Brewers, he appears to be way outside of the Brewers price range. Yesterday, Noah looked at why the Brewers couldn't afford him. What it comes down to is prospects, and other teams have offered more than the Brewers have, yet couldn't get him. To even have a chance at Price, the Brewers would probably have to offer some current MLB players in a deal for him. For a contending team, that's not something that they can do.

Cram Session

• Jonathan Lucroy and Matt Garza were named players of the month for the month of June.
• AK of Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball looks at the Brewers and baserunning to see if they are a good or bad team running the bases.
• Meanwhile, on Disciples of Uecker, Ryan Topp also analyzes the Brewers baserunning after Monday night's debacle.
• Do Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez really deserve to start the All-Star game? Ben Tannenbaum of The Brewers Bar thinks that they don't deserve to start.
• Beyond the Box Score released their list of who they would select as reserves for the All-Star game.
• The Brewers have been conservative in recent years with building their team through the minor leagues, and J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker wonders if that is hurting their ability to develop a future core of players.
• Should Ron Roenicke be NL Manager of the Year? Mike Bauman of MLB.com makes a case for the Brewers skipper.
• After a story came out about a man suing ESPN for $10 million, Miller Park Drunk came out with a list of 10 things someone could sue the Brewers for.
• Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar commented on the ESPN cover of Prince Fielder and how men & women are viewed differently for photos like this.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• Jimmy Nelson pitched seven scoreless innings on Monday night for Nashville.
• Jim Henderson is progressing well in his rehab stint, and has been moved up to Double-A Huntsville.
• Jay D of Reviewing the Brew has an update on Johnny Hellweg.

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

Division Update

• Cardinals 5, Pirates 4
• Reds 4, Cubs 2
• Reds 6, Cubs 5

Today's Division Games

• Cubs (Dallas Beeler) @ Reds (Alfredo Simon) - 6:10 pm
• Pirates (Brandon Cumpton) @ Cardinals (Lance Lynn) - 7:15 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers will try to stop their current skid in game three of their series against the Phillies. Roberto Hernandez will face Kyle Lohse in tonight's game. First pitch is at 7:10 pm, and Erik Bacharach of MLB.com has the preview.