Brewers 10, Reds 16: Baseball is weird

Win: Jason Marquis (1-1)
Loss: Mike Fiers (0-3)

HR: Martin Maldonado (1), Elian Herrera (1), Jay Bruce (3), Zack Cozart 2 (3, 4), Joey Votto (6)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

This game was a mess. It's this weirdly unique set of circumstances that creates a situation where this is just weird to recap. Some games, it's not that way. Some have a very linear way to go where we can cover 'this happened, then this, which led to this, and finally this.' Some games have a common thread that we can latch onto and say 'this happened often and is good/bad moving forward because x.'

Not this game, though. This game was allllll over the place, and there's not a thing I can do where I can say either 'This game is reason for optimism' or 'This game further proves how bad the Brewers are'. Because there are reasons for both. The Brewers offense has been, well, offensive this year but they put a bunch of other guys in the lineup and somehow put a ten spot up. That's good. Then you see the Brewers still lost because they gave up six-goldang-teen runs and you kind of, I think, just have to laugh a little bit.

There were three grand slams in this game. Jay Bruce hit the first in the third inning to take a 4-0 lead. No joke, I had a friend over watching the game with me and she turned it off at this time for, as she lovingly put it, 'the sake of [my] metal health'. Maybe...I don't know...five? ten? minutes later, I get the game back on and the Brewers have put a three-spot on the board thanks in part to a Martin Maldonado home run. Then the Brewers got a fourth run, and tied it up, and things were exciting.

Until the very next inning, when Todd Frazier hit the second grand slam of the night to put the Reds back up by four with an 8-4 lead. Then the Reds scored three more in the sixth, including a two-run Zack Cozart homer. The Brewers got one back, but then the Reds scored two more. Then the Brewers put up five runs, including an Elian Herrera grand slam (the third grand slam of the evening). Then the Reds scored three more. Offense, offense, offense. Just insanity.

Of course, all those runs are not good for a pitchers well-being. Mike Fiers gave up eight runs in six innings, four of which were earned. Tyler Thornburg allowed five runs in two innings, four of which were earned. Neal Cotts allowed three in 0.1 innings, all of which were earned.

The Brewers decided to give Logan Schafer, Jason Rogers and Elian Herrera all starts tonight, as well as needing to start Martin Maldonado behind the plate. Somehow, that was the jolt the team needed. Rogers had a pair of hits, but also two throwing errors in his first start at third base this season. Herrera was 2-5 with a double, a grand slam, 2 runs and 5 RBI. Maldonado reached base twice, including his two-run homer. Even Schafer picked up a hit and a walk while scoring a pair of runs! Ryan Braun had two hits! Jean Segura had two hits! You get a hit, and you get a hit!

In the end, though, if you're still hoping the Brewers can compete this year, this game leaves you with mixed feelings. The offense finally had a breakout game, which is fantastic and much-needed. But the pitching was as bad as it's been and the defense was poor as well. Positives. Negatives. 2015 Brewers baseball.

What a weird year this year has been, already.