What We Learned: Zach Davies makes his case for the 2016 rotation

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 5, Padres 0

It's hard to believe that it's only been a month in the majors for Zach Davies, but he has shown a lot of improvement in that month. After getting hit hard in two of his first three starts, he settled down to pitch quality starts in his last three, with the last two both scoreless appearances. Last night was the best one, as he pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Meanwhile, the offense put up five runs on five singles and a run in the fifth inning, which was more than enough for the win.

Brewers News & Notes

• For those of you who haven't been around the site in the last few days, you may have missed the news that Noah has stepped down as manager of Brew Crew Ball. Derek took over the role as of this morning and introduced us to his new reign of tyranny plans for the site.
• If you missed the interview of new Brewers GM David Stearns on Tuesday's Brewers broadcast, there's a video of it available from MLB.com.
• Zach Davies insured that his impact this September will be felt going into Spring Training. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com notes that Davies pitched fifteen consecutive scoreless innings to finish 2015, and is in the conversation for opening the 2016 season in the Brewers starting rotation.
• One of the reasons that Davies had such success is that he was able to make adjustments as he went this season. Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker analyzes the changes that Davies made and how they helped him succeed.
• Another player that will be fighting for a rotation spot in Spring Training is Ariel Pena. Ryan Romano of BP Milwaukee believes that Pena has a chance to stick in the rotation if he can develop his second and third pitches.
• Elian Herrera has been out since a hard collision on September 19 against the Reds, and while the injury was less severe than first believed, it will probably end his season. Adam McCalvy reports that Counsell doesn't think Herrera will be ready to play again before the end of the season, and the goal now is to prepare him for winter ball.
• With a logjam coming in the outfield, Khris Davis has gone on a power surge to prove that he deserves to remain in the conversation for the outfield. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looks at the numbers that Davis has put up in the last two months and what it means for his future with the team.
• The Brewers have announced which players will be playing in winter ball leagues this year. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has the complete list of participants.

Minor League Update

• Marcus Young of Miller Park Prospects has a season review for the Helena Brewers.

NL Central Update

• Pirates 8, Cardinals 2
• Cardinals 11, Pirates 1
• Cubs 10, Reds 3

Today's Division Games

• Cubs (Jason Hammel) @ Reds (John Lamb) - 11:35 am
• Cardinals and Pirates have the day off.

Around Baseball

Roster News

• The Angels selected the contract of LHP Jo-Jo Reyes and designated infielder Grant Green for assignment.
• Giants outfielder Marlon Byrd will likely not have his 2016 option vest, as the Giants have decided to play rookies ahead of Byrd now that they have been eliminated from the playoff race.
• Giants LHP Jeremy Affeldt will retire after the 2015 season. Affeldt has played for 14 years in the majors, winning three World Series as part of the Giants bullpen.
• Mets outfield Yoenis Cespedes was hit in the hand with a pitch yesterday, but managed to escape with just some bruised fingers. He is expected to be back in the lineup this weekend.
• Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain is day-to-day after taking a pitch off of his right knee in yesterday's game against the White Sox.

Other Notes

• The Blue Jays have officially clinched the AL East with a win over Baltimore yesterday. Only two spots (Blue Jays and Royals) have been clinched in the AL, with the Yankees, Twins, Rangers, Astros, and Angels all competing for the last three spots.
  
• The Cardinals clinched the NL Central yesterday with a 11-1 win in the second game of the day against the Pirates. All three NL divisions have been clinched, with the teams fighting for home field advantage in the last few days of the season.
• A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs by surrounding area rooftop clubs, who were arguing that the Cubs installing new video boards was a breech of contract by blocking their views.
• A new study by USA Today has been released, which says that the majority of bench-clearing brawls in baseball have main antagonists of different ethnic backgrounds. Mike Oz of Big League Stew believes that this conclusion is accurate, and discusses why most brawls would come from people of different backgrounds.

Today's Action

The Brewers play their final road game of the season tonight as they conclude their series with the Padres. Taylor Jungmann faces Ian Kennedy as the Brewers go for the series sweep. First pitch is at 5:40 pm.