What we learned: May 11, 2015

This Weekend's Results

Cubs 7, Brewers 6

The Brewers fell behind early as the home run ball continued to bite the pitching staff. Four Cubs homered in the game to spoil Jimmy Nelson's day, as he allowed four runs in seven innings while striking out eleven Cubs. The Brewers did rally with three runs in the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough to finish the comeback.

Brewers 12, Cubs 4

While Kris Bryant's first major league home run was the focus of the game, it was the Brewers that broke out on offense. Jason Rogers hit his first major league home run as well, and Gerardo Parra and Jean Segura added home runs of their own as well. Kyle Lohse had another rough day, allowing four runs in five innings, but the offense had his back this time. The blowout got so bad that the Cubs sent a position player to pitch the eighth (he pitched a 1-2-3 inning).

Brewers 3, Cubs 2

The Mother's Day magic has now passed to Martin Maldonado. With the score tied at 2 in the eleventh inning and the bases loaded, Maldonado hit a single to right field to score Ryan Braun and give the Brewers a walkoff victory. Maldonado also had a solo home run in the win. Matt Garza got the start and pitched seven strong innings, allowing only one run, three hits, and three walks, with nine strikeouts.

Brewers News & Notes

• With Ron Roenicke gone, how much longer does Doug Melvin have as general manager? Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel asks the question as the Brewers continue to move through what has been a terrible season so far.
• Craig Counsell finished his first full week of work as Brewers manager on Sunday. Tom Haudricourt notes in his blog that Counsell likes the focus of his players and also discusses how his first week of managing went.
• In Saturday's game, Marcus Hanel caught the first career home run hit by Kris Bryant in the bullpen. Adam McCalvy notes that Hanel gave the ball back to Bryant, and also provided some insight about what Hanel does with home runs hit into the bullpen.
• Did the Brewers make a mistake in choosing Brandon Kintzler over Rob Wooten? Justin Schultz of The First Out At Third argues that the Brewers made the wrong decision by optioning Wooten.
• Why has Khris Davis been struggling this season? Kyle Lesniewski of Reviewing the Brew looks at Davis' performance through the first month of the season to find out what has been wrong with him.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• Over the weekend, the Brewers made a minor-league roster move, signing infielder Chris Nelson to a minor-league deal. Nelson was assigned to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects was busy over the weekend and has two new photo galleries to view. The first is from Friday's Timber Rattlers game, and the second is from Sunday's Sky Sox game in Iowa.
• On his Minor Details blog, Jeff Levering provides updates on the Brewers minor league affiliates and his experience with getting trapped in the radio booth last week.

NL Central Update

• Cardinals @ Pirates
  Friday: Cardinals 8, Pirates 5
  Saturday: Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
  Sunday: Pirates 4, Cardinals 3
• Reds @ White Sox
  Saturday: Reds 10, White Sox 4
  Saturday: White Sox 8, Reds 2
  Sunday: White Sox 4, Reds 3

Today's Division Games

• Pirates (Gerrit Cole) @ Phillies (Jerome Williams) - 6:05 pm
• Braves (Shelby Miller) @ Reds (Mike Leake) - 6:10 pm
• Mets (Jacob deGrom) @ Cubs (Jon Lester) - 7:05 pm
• Cardinals have the day off.

Around Baseball

Roster News

• Starting pitcher Jarrod Parker of the Athletics sustained a fracture in his right elbow during a rehab appearance and will miss the remainder of the 2015 season. In addition, the Athletics acquired outfielder Matt Carson from the Dodgers for cash.
• The Braves outrighted LHP Donnie Veal to Triple-A.
• The Blue Jays placed outfielder Michael Saunders on the 15-day DL with left knee inflammation and selected the contract of utility player Steve Tolleson.
• Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter missed the weekend series in Pittsburgh because of "extreme fatigue".
• Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig aggravated his hamstring during a rehab game and may extend his time on the disabled list.
• The Giants are expected to sign LHP Ricky Romero to a minor-league deal.
• The Indians signed reliever Carlos Marmol to a minor-league contract.
• The Mets placed RHP Dillon Gee on the 15-day DL with a groin injury and recalled starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
• The Orioles placed reliever Kevin Gausman on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis and recalled T.J. McFarland. They also claimed RHP Jorge Rondon from the Rockies and transferred catcher Matt Wieters to the 60-day DL.
• The Pirates acquired LHP Jayson Aquino from the Blue Jays for cash.
• Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock to begin a rehab assignment. The Rangers also assigned LHP Mike Kickham to Triple-A after he cleared outright waivers.
• Rays RHP Alex Cobb will have Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2015 season. The Rays also placed starting pitcher Drew Smyly on the 15-day DL, and he suffered a torn labrum that will likely require season-ending surgery. They also signed Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona to a minor-league contract.
• The Red Sox optioned outfielder Allen Craig  and reliever Robbie Ross Jr. to Triple-A, and recalled outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and pitcher Steven Wright.
• The Royals placed LHP Jason Vargas on the 15-day DL and reinstated shortstop Alcides Escobar from the 7-day DL. They also placed Mike Mostakas on the bereavement list, optioned catcher Francisco Pena, and added catcher Drew Butera and RHP Yohan Pino to the roster.
• The Tigers placed catcher Alex Avila on the 15-day DL with a left knee injury and recalled catcher Bryan Holaday. Avila will need arthroscopic surgery but hopes to be back for the second half of the season.

Other Notes

• In Friday's Dodgers-Rockies game, there was a special moment before the game as John Axford's son Jameson threw out the first pitch. Mark Townsend of Big League Stew has the details.
• Townsend also notes that Saturday's Cardinals-Pirates game featured a historic moment, as the Pirates turned the first 4-5-4 triple play in MLB history.

Today's Action

The Brewers have their first interleague series of the year starting today with a three-game series against the White Sox. In the first game, Wily Peralta will face Jeff Samardzija tonight. First pitch is at the earlier time of 6:20 pm, and Scott Merkin of MLB.com has the preview.