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Brewers Starting Pitcher: Ariel Pena
Marlins Starting Pitcher: Tom Koehler
Winning Pitcher: Tom Koehler
Losing Pitcher: Will Smith
Today was a very special day for two of the newest members of the Milwaukee Brewers. Pitcher Ariel Pena made his first MLB start. His battery mate Nevin Ashley was making his first ever appearance in a major league baseball game. The two are familiar with each other as they both spent the entire season together at AAA Colorado Springs.
Nevin Ashley's first major league plate appearance came in the second inning. Khris Davis had drawn a walk to start the inning off but there were now two outs. Ashley was able to calm his nerves and wait for his pitch which he got. He swung and lined a hard double up the middle allowing Davis to score. So not only did Ashley get his first knock in his first AB he got his first RBI as well.
Ashley displayed some defensive prowess as well, with a huge assist from Elian Herrera. There was a runner at third base and the batter ripped a grounder to short. Herrera was able to make the stop and immediately threw the ball home. Watching it live I kind of sighed because I thought it was a bad call. But then the umpires called the guy out. On the broadcast's replay they showed that Ashley had set his feet in a way that he wasn't blocking the plate (which would have resulted in an immediate overturning of the call and a run) before he got the ball. But he transitioned expertly once he got the ball blocking off the runner's slide allowing Ashley to apply the tag in time to save a run and keep the game tied. It's was pretty great.
Overall I would say Ariel Pena had a decent start. With four walks issued he did fight his command which has been an issue that's always plagued him. But the umpire wasn't exactly helping him. He threw about five strikes to Martin Prado in the third before allowing the 2-RBI single that tied the game. That was the only time he allowed a run to score and he did strike out four batters. He even went a full five innings throwing 94 pitches which is more than I expected.
Unfortunately for Pena he left with the game tied and therefore unable to get a win. Later in the game Will Smith would allow three runs to come in, one of which was credited to Tyler Cravy. Ultimately this would be the game winning runs for the Marlins as the Brewers offense was unable to respond.
Twice in this game Dee Gordon would score on a single to center field. Domingo Santana didn't misplay the ball terrible but he wasn't perfect either. That's all it took for Dee Gordon and his blazing speed to round the bases and score from first. This would have been a very different game if he wasn't able to do that.
Brewers would lose 5-2 dropping their season record to 61-78.
Next Game:
Friday September 10, 6:05 pm CST: Wily Peralta vs AJ Burnett