What We Learned: Five losing streaks of five games

Yesterday's Results

Cardinals 5, Brewers 4

Stop me when you've heard this before: Cardinals rookie has great game against Brewers. Yes, that happened...again. This time, it was outfielder Tommy Pham, who beat the Brewers almost by himself. He hit two home runs and a triple (which was almost a home run as well), driving in four of the Cardinals five runs. Wily Peralta had another rough start, allowing all five of the runs that the Brewers allowed. The Brewers did mount a comeback attempt thanks to Martin Maldonado's three-run home run, but couldn't get past the Cardinals bullpen to finish it.

With the loss, the Brewers have now lost five games in a row on five different occassions this season. In the following game in each, they also lost to extend each losing streak to six games. Here are the previous losing streaks:

- April 15 to April 22 (8 games)
- May 23 to May 30 (7 games)
- June 13 to June 18 (6 games)
- July 29 to August 3 (6 games)

Brewers News & Notes

• Wily Peralta lost for the fourth time this season against the Cardinals last night. His recent struggles have made some people wonder if he's still injured, but Adam McCalvy reports that Peralta's struggles are not a result of injury.
• One Brewer who is struggling with an injury right now is Ryan Braun. He was scratched from the lineup yesterday with back issues, and Adam McCalvy reports that the issue is "pretty serious" and Braun will have to play through it.
• Despite Ryan Braun's recent injury problems with his back, he has still been playing well this year. It's also important to note that Braun has been doing this with no additional positive PED tests. J.P. Breen of BP Milwaukee says that people who want to say that Braun's success was only because of performance-enhancing drugs would have trouble defending that position considering Braun's numbers this season.
• Six GM jobs are open this season, some more attractive than others. Jeff Sullivan takes a look at each GM opening and asks which job is the most attractive. As of this writing, only 10.7% of people responding chose the Brewers job, placing it fourth of the six choices. (The Angels and Marlins were both ranked lower, with the Phillies on top with 43.1%.)
• Speaking of the GM opening, Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Brewers will interview Rays VP Chaim Bloom today. Athletics assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz is also expected to interview for the position, and Brewers scouting director Ray Montgomery is also considered a candidate.
• With the Brewers out of contention in September, they have been able to use this month for "minor-league tryouts". Seth Victor of BP Milwaukee looks at the value of giving minor-league players a chance to show what they can do in the majors with a September call-up.
• Before yesterday's game, the Brewers hosted a series of surprise tailgate events around Milwaukee. Cait Covers the Bases looks at the event from yesterday.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• In last night's game for the Shuckers, they dominated the competition once again. Jorge Lopez pitched seven innings and allowed just one run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Orlando Arcia hit a home run for the third straight game, and Brett Phillips added one as well. Yadiel Rivera also drove in three runs in the win.

NL Central Update

• Cubs 3, Pirates 2
• Giants 5, Reds 3

Today's Division Games

• Cubs (Kyle Hendricks) @ Pirates (Charlie Morton) - 11:35 am
• Reds have the day off.

Today's Action

With the losing streak now at five games, the Brewers will once again try to get a win and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals. Jimmy Nelson will face John Lackey as he tries to get the Brewers back on track. First pitch is at 7:10 pm.